


Behind the mask

by 9liseraph6



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death Fix, Fix-It, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Missing Scene, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Not Canon Compliant, Original Characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-09-06 00:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 34,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16821193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/9liseraph6/pseuds/9liseraph6
Summary: Daryl and Paul can't run from reality forever, especially not after they come across a young boy coming from a group called the Whisperers, who threaten to trouble the new found peace their community fought so hard for.





	1. Behind the mask

**Author's Note:**

> A little fix-it fic that I hope you will enjoy. Will add tags and warnings as the story progresses.

Daryl invites Paul to sit by the fire, like he did so many times before with a nod and a wave. Paul sits and gently pats Dog on the head. He usually doesn't like dogs, or animals, all that much, though weirdly enough, he has taken a liking to Daryl's new little companion over time. Minutes go by in silence, a comfortig silence, a quiet and peaceful moment Paul had been really looking forward to all month.

Daryl has been living in the woods for six years now. Rick's death had broken something in him, Paul knew. That little something that allowed him, in the past, to be part of the community fully. Now that it's gone, now that Rick's gone, Daryl has gone, too. But not so far as to never find him again.

They are sitting facing each other and the fire is between them. The morning cool air starts to gives in to the radiance of the sun and Paul can see Daryl's face lightens a little at that. He notices his hair is shorter and he knows it means Carol has been visiting. He smiles at the thought of Daryl having his hair done.

" What's that ? "

Daryl has noticed Paul did not only bring clean water and food this time. Paul smirks and throws the can over the fire. Daryl catches it, fast as always. He examined it and Paul can catch the faintest of smile appear on his face.

" Thought of you when I saw these. I gave the rest of the lot to Tara. If I remember correctly it was the ones you told me Denise wanted to offer her. The ones I ruined on our... merry meeting.  
\- I think it's the ones, yeah. "

Daryl shakes his head and looks at Paul.

" Can't believe you remember that.  
\- I didn't tell Tara about Denise, though. Only that I'd remembered her talking about those being her favorite. Didn't want to wake up old wounds. "

Daryl nods and opens the can. There is something in his eyes that Paul knows to be gratefulness. In the two years he's been visiting Daryl in the woods, he learnt how to read the other man pretty well. They stay silent for a moment, both staring into the fading flames.

Dog barks and breaks the quiet of the woods. Daryl stands at once, alert. He gestures to Jesus not to move or make a sound while he goes investigate towards the source of Dog's apparent worries, the little friend following Daryl closely, barking still all the while.

" Shh, it's okay, " murmured Daryl. And Dog actually calms down a little at Daryl's deep voice.

They keep on getting deeper into the woods, Paul never letting them out of his sight. Daryl suddenly comes to a stop and Paul's heart skips a beat when he sees what has caused this. Dog barks loudly again and Daryl can't seem to calm him down this time.

" What the hell " Daryl points his crossbow to what seems to be a walker. Seem to be, because this walker is unlike any both Daryl and Paul had ever seen before. It is a man, the face completely ravaged by death and standing still. So very still and quiet. As if contemplating the scene, taking in everything; the Dog, Daryl, and finally setting his eyes on Paul. He doesn't walk towards them, or make any noise like normal walkers do. And most importantly, he's carrying a knife in his hand. And it looks like he would actually be able to use it if need be. Paul gets up, finally getting out of his transe.

" Daryl, wait... "

But before Daryl can say or do anything, the walker runs and hide behind a tree, startling the dog and causing Daryl to shoot an arrow into the air.

" Shit ! "

Daryl reloads the crossbow as quickly as possible and aims at the tree, getting ready to shoot whoever or whatever was hiding behind it. Paul brushes the gun on his waist with the tips of his finger, almost as captivated as he was nervous.

" That ain't no walker, that, " he grunts at Paul. " Show yourself, asshole. " he then shouts at the stranger.

" Don't shoot, " a young, trembling voice shouts back. Paul and Daryl exchange a surprised look, then Daryl makes to move closer to the voice but is stopped by Paul's hand gripping his arm tight. Daryl gives him a quizzical look but Paul has his attention to what he suspects was a boy and ignores it, though not letting go of Daryl's arm.

" I'm Paul Rovia. And this is Daryl. " Paul waits for an answer and when he gets none goes on. " We won't do anything to you unless you force us to.  
\- I'm not handing over my knife. " the boy whimpers, seemingly overtaken by panic. " Please, j-just... just let me go. " he begs the two older men.

Dog, who has been silent there for a moment, seems to have calmed down a little and turned his attention to some bug in the grass next to Daryl's shoe.

" What's up with your face, " shouts Daryl, visibly annoyed at the boy's whimpering.

" It's n-not... " begins the boy, having difficulty to speak because of how afraid he seems to be. " It's not my face. I-I'm wearing someone else's face. " At these words, Paul is torn between shock and disgust. Daryl looks quite disturbed himself.

The boy continues when he hears no reply. " It's not for fun or anything. We do that to protect ourselves. Me and my group. With the dead faces on, and some ribs here and there on our clothes, we can walk among them and no one ever notices us. The dead protect us against the living that would harm us. With them on our side, we're invisible. "

While Daryl takes it all in, Paul moves a bit closer to the tree, Dog at his heels, barking a couple of times before falling silent again.

" The dog can see me ! " the boy suddenly yells, as if driven mad by the dog's barking. " It sees through the guts and blood and rotten faces. He can sense the warm flesh underneath.  
\- It's okay. " Paul says in, he wishes, a comforting enough tone as to not frighten the boy further. " He won't hurt you. He doesn't hurt the living.  
\- Is it yours ? " Paul glances at Daryl, then answers : " Yes. He's very nice. I'll let you pet him if you like. If you come out from behind that tree so we can see you.  
\- Why would I do that ? Why would I trust you ?  
\- Because we're on the same side, you and I. Right ? "

After a moment of complete silence that threatens to make Daryl go mad with impatience, the boy, his face still hidden behind this horrible mask made of human flesh, comes out, at last. Wary and trembling from head to toe, he first glances nervously at Dog, then Daryl, who is still pointing his crossbow in his direction, until he finally meets Paul's eyes.

They all stare at each other for a little while longer, until the boy, his breathing getting slower and his panic gone decides to take off the mask. Daryl puts away his weapon when he sees the look of terror in the young man's face. Paul's heart breaks at the sight of him. He looks so miserable, vulnerable, so young. Paul estimates the lad to be no more than fourteen. His eyes are of a dark colour, possibly brown, almond shaped, his hair black as night and dirty, but not as dirty as his face. Paul suspects the boy to have asian origins.

Daryl is the first to break the silence.

" That knife...  
\- I'm keeping it, " the boy interrupted, tightening his grip on the weapon in a protective way.

" Is that all you got ? " Daryl asks, a bit gentler.  
" Yeah...  
\- You said you weren't alone, " Paul begins.  
" You said you were with a group of people.  
\- I was. I just left.  
\- Why ? " Daryl asks abruptly, still wary.  
" I couldn't stay. Not a-after what they did to her.  
\- Her ?  
\- Lydia. She's my friend, " he sobs, visibly saddened by the thought of this Lydia girl. " She said if I didn't leave right now, one day they'll get bored of her and start being interesting in me instead. I got scared. So I left. I left... " he finishes, crying his eyes out, until everything gets dark and the boy is on the floor, unconscious. 


	2. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2. Hope you like it ^.^'

Daryl gets on his feet after what seemed like hours and nods to Paul. Paul understands that the boy is still breathing. He sighs in relief. He has seen kids die before and is not quite looking forward to seeing more.

" You think we should take him closer to the fire, " proposes Daryl after a moment.

Paul glances at the said fire and Daryl adds : " Or what's left of it. "

He doesn't wait for an answer and begins taking the boy by the arms, expecting Paul to take the legs, and that's what Paul does. They get the boy as close to the heat the old fire still breathes around it and make sure he's comfortably seated, his back on a tree nearby.

Everything is so quiet it's starting to make Paul uneasy.

Paul is used to silence when he comes here to visit Daryl once a month. God knows how much he loves these privileged moments alone with Daryl and Dog and the calm that comes with it. Being the leader of a big community like the Hilltop can be tiring after a while. Especially when you were supposed to be in this position only temporary but that temporary soon became months and finally a year and a half.  
So these quiet moments with Daryl in the woods gradually became a necessity. At first, it was only a sort of escape for Paul, to reality and duty and the Hilltop. Now that Tara has taken upon herself to help Paul and allow him to have more free times, he has to admit he doesn't really need to come and see Daryl so often anymore. But for reason he can't explain he still comes. Once a month. Every month. And he will continue to do this as long as Daryl lets him.

What he can't explain right now, though, is how he feels about this boy who was, only minutes ago, seemingly spying on them wearing a dead person's face on his head. Part of him wants to believe this kid and help him even. Him and this girl who told him to go while he could. Why did she tell him to leave their group ? What did these people do to that girl ?

Daryl has been staring at Paul for a while when Paul finally notices.

" Do you believe him, " he asks Daryl.  
" Do you ?  
\- What do we do ? Should I let the others know ?  
\- Know what ? We don't know shit. Not for sure. I don't want to give them a reason to panic. Not after what happened with Michonne.  
\- But Daryl, you heard that boy. These people are out there, somewhere, doing God knows what to that poor girl...  
\- Or so he says. "

Paul knows there is no point in arguing with Daryl and says no more. Daryl is taken aback by the lack of response from him and seems to consider Paul's point of view.

" I don't want the Kingdom to know. They're well hidden and safe. No need to put them in danger. The Hilltop is easy to find for a good tracker. They should probably prepare to fight. Just in case. "

Paul smiles; Daryl did exactly what he intended him to do. In an argument with Daryl Dixon, you don't force your opinion on him, because he won't let you to. You speak your mind, listens to his, and wait for him to consider your idea and make a decision based on all the facts, after he calmed down. Paul learnt that within the first months he had started to come to Daryl's new home.

***

On his way back to Hilltop, Paul is thinking about ways to tell Tara what happened when he hears a noise.  
He stops walking, looks around and listens hard. He thinks he sees something moving behind a tree and in a second, his gun is in his hand.

" Daryl, " he calls despite knowing full well it's not him. Daryl would not let the boy out of his sight. Before Paul left, they agreed Daryl would stay at the camp and watch him.

" Hello ? "

It moves again. Paul is now sure someone is hiding behind that tree. They probably have been following him for a while and he did not notice it until now.

" I don't want to hurt you, " he declares after a moment. " Show yourself. "

Paul can't believe it but it works. They show themselves. And when they do Paul feels like the earth under him is spinning. It is him. The boy from earlier. The boy with the mask. He carefully takes a step closer to Paul, who is having a hard time comprehending how he can be there and Daryl isn't. What happened to Daryl ?

" I know you won't hurt me. You're a good man. "

Paul wants to ask where Daryl is but he is afraid of what could come out of that kid's mouth. He takes a deep breath and points the gun to the boy's head, decided to shoot if he doesn't like the answer. He would hate himself for killing a child afterwards but right now, right now...  
If the boy is scared, he shows no sign of it. He really believes Paul will not kill him. He even comes a little closer, confident, not concerned about the gun pointed to his head at all.

" My name's Tim. Timothy. I didn't catch your name...  
\- What are you doing here ? Where...  
\- He's alive. Your friend. If that's what you were wondering. I'm not a bad person. I didn't lie to you. My friend is in danger. I need your help. I heard you guys talk about communities... maybe they would help, too. "

Paul listens without really listening at the same time. Daryl is alive. He is alive. Tim. He said his name was Tim. His friend. Danger. He hears the words but his brain can't seem to function. Timothy looks perplexed. Perhaps he is not so confident Paul would not kill him after all. Paul's arm hurts from holding the gun in the air for so long and it is the only thing that makes him put it away.

" Daryl. What did you do to him ?  
\- He'll be fine. I suspect he'll be pissed but... he'll live. "

Paul considers going back to Daryl's camp. But they are three hours from it and he doesn't want Timothy to find a way to get away and go to the Hilltop on his own.

" I'll send people to Daryl's camp when we arrive. To check on him. If he's alive, I'll see what I can do for you. If he's not...  
\- Thank you.  
\- Follow me, then. We'll be there in an hour if we're quick. "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should update soon ! Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you like it and if you didn't what didn't work for you ? Trying to improve both my way of storytelling and english spelling. ^.^


	3. Daryl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Daryl and Dog ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To avoid confusion because I wasn't clear in my explanations on page : Paul has found Daryl's new "home" in the woods two years ago but has been the leader of the Hilltop for only a year an half. He's started visiting every month when he became the leader in Maggie's stead as stated in the story.
> 
> Enjoy Chapter 3 !

Jesus left an hour ago, or so Daryl estimates. The boy is still unconscious but Daryl doesn't want to let him out of sight. Dog is sniffing at him when Daryl decides to tie him up with the rope he's been using for Dog.

He stops in his tracks when the boy suddenly opens his eyes. Before he can let go of the rope and pick up his crossbow, the boy is on him. Daryl doesn't have time to realize what has been done to him before he's feeling dizzy. The world becomes a blur, Dog's barking an echo. Daryl can't feel himself falling, but he feels the pain at the back of his head after it hits the ground. Panic starts to settle in, each new breath harder to take, his chest so tight he feels like it's going to explode.

_Don't hurt my dog_ , he wants to scream but no sound comes out of his mouth.

Next thing he knows, he's been yelled at by people his drugged mind won't let him remember the names of. "Wake up," and "Daryl, hang in there" they shout at him in despair. Daryl wants to say something but he can't seem to remember how to talk, either. He's looking at the three of them above him through , and tries to raise a hand to let them know he was okay but his hands won't move.

" He's awake, " exclaimed the youngest of the lot, who Daryl soon realizes is, in fact, a girl.

" The drug in his system is starting to wear out, she goes on. Maybe that kid didn't lie to us, after all.

\- Should we take him back home with us or wait for him to wake up completely ?, asked a tall curly haired man that Daryl knows is a friend of his but can't possibly be here because he's supposed to be at Alexandria.

\- Maybe you should head back, Aaron, said the third person, a young man not a lot older than the girl, as if he has just read Daryl's mind. If Michonne finds out you came close to our borders...

\- Michonne isn't the one who needs me right now, interrupted Aaron. I'm coming with you. "

The pain at the back of his head is making Daryl feel dizzy again. Even more so when Aaron takes it up to adjust his position so he can carry Daryl safely by the waist. The girl lifts the bottom of his body by the ankles with a strenght he wouldn't have suspected in such a small body while the other boy takes Dog in his arms, holding the animal like one would hold a baby. Daryl's heart skips a beat at the sight of his little buddy, unconscious, probably in agony and fear caused by the effects of the drugs as well as not being able to bark or move. The pain on his head is growing more and more maddening and makes Daryl so ill he's afraid he's going to throw up and drown in his own vomit. They put him gently at the back of the carriage they seemingly came here with, Dog by his side. Not being able to touch him is torturous.

"Daryl, Aaron calls after they've been riding for what seems like hours for Daryl but probably was only a couple of minutes in reality. Do you hear me ? Try and blink if you do. "

And that's what Daryl tries to do, with no success. He manages to let out of painful moan, though, frustrated at him being so powerless over his own body, and that sartles both him and his friend. Aaron turns to the others but both are focus on the road ahead, so Aaron settles his gaze on Daryl instead.

" You're gonna be okay. Enid will get that shit out of your system in no time once we're home, you'll see. Dog is okay, in case you were worried. I hope you're hearing me, I know how much that dog means to you. The kid you and Jesus found, he told us he injected a small dose of a mixed of some multiple drugs his group make. He said they used it all the time, to get their mind off… everything, and that it was safe. Jesus didn't take any chances with him, though. He's keeping him locked up until he's sure you're gonna be fine. "

Aaron's voice has always been soothing to Daryl's ears; listening the man talk was never something Daryl ever thought would want to make him hit his own head against a wall, but it does right now. His head is hurting so bad he doesn't want to hear any sound. He closes his eyes, wishing that could help him go back to that state of unconsciousness so that he could stop hurting so much but Aaron would not let him.

"Hey, stay with me. Stay with me, he whispers, close to Daryl's face. You got to stay awake. It's important you stay awake, Daryl. You hear me ? "

Another grunt from Daryl that Aaron takes as a yes. He stays silent for a long moment, his eyes on Daryl at all time, and Daryl allows his mind to wander a little.

He sees himself by a fire. It's still early in the morning and the mist blurs his vision so he can't see beyond a meter. He can't seem to remember when exactly this moment happened, but he remembers that day very vividly; he had stopped going to the Hilltop in a while and he was seriously thinking about taking his own life, right then and there. Daryl had never been in such a dark place as he was during this very moment.

Before the world changed, the dark thoughts were his companions almost daily. But he had his brother with him. He wasn't perfect but he was all Daryl had. Merle was his whole world in a way. So it was hard when Merle left home one day, leaving Nothing but a note Daryl had found later on Merle's bed, written in a dark red ink that Daryl knew was their father's. The note simply said : "Don't let them get you down". These words stuck with Daryl for a while, but the fact that their toxic parents had led him to abandon his brother was enough for Daryl to ignore the note and try and just forget about his brother altogether. 

Then, the dead started walking the earth and by then, his big brother was back in his life, madder and angrier at the world than ever. He had let their parents, most specifically their dad, get him down, take the better out of him and make him a little Dixon Senior. When Merle died, though, as a lot of his friends, too, Daryl thought he could never feel any worse than he was feeling at the time. It almost broke him, the conflict with the Saviors, with Negan. Then, Rick died and that was all too much to take. He had searched everywhere for Rick's body and that helped him keep going for a while. But he never found a body. Rick had disappeared. Just like that. And although Daryl knew he could count on his other friends, the grief had taken all the place in his mind. He was tired of it all, he wanted Rick, his true brother, back. He wanted to join him in, what he wished was, a better place than here. Then, maybe he woudn't feel so alone anymore.

In present day, tears are falling down Daryl's cheeks and he can't hold them back, nor does he want to. Only Aaron is seeing him cry right now and Aaron is safe to cry around.

Jesus had found him that day Daryl was thinking about ending his life. He said he and Tara were worried sick about him, that he hadn't been at the Hilltop in a long time and feared something bad had happened to him. Little did he know, had he come later, that it was a dead body he would have found that day.

Aaron is squeezing his hand, Daryl sees, failing to feel. It's still a very comforting sight and Daryl wishes he could squeeze Aaron's warm, big hand in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working on chap 4. Thank you to those who took the time to leave kudos. Highy appreciated X


	4. Hilltop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Should they trust Timothy ?

The boy does not move. He's as still as calm water, his eyes fixed on the ground, looking sorry for himself. Staying, even a couple of hours, in a cell that stinks and where no light comes in can be a little unsettling, Paul admits to himself. But the boy is smart, quick, so quick, in fact, he took on both Daryl and Dog on his own. Paul could not risk him to get away again. Not now that he has been inside the walls of his Community.

He told Paul about his own Community on the way to Hilltop. Tim was an only, parentless young boy of fourteen years old and could not remember where he used to live before all this. He remembers his parents, though. The "Whisperers", or so they call themselves, had taken them three in when the boy was only six, fed them, given them new clothes and more importantly, a safe place to stay in. But soon enough, the Whisperers showed their true colors. They weren't just like any other group, they were people that believed humans should live like animals. Their leader, Alpha, had explained to Tim and his parents how they could hide from the people that would hurt them and take what they had by using the dead to their advantage. The whole group wore dead people's faces like one would wear a mask for Halloween, not a care in the world.

Tim's parents would not have it. These people had a way of seeing things that diverge too much from them. Letting children and sometimes adults get raped, beaten, doing whatever Alpha wanted them to do, that was just too much for the little family. The parents feared for their child's safety and so decided to leave this group and its Strange people and find someplace else, a better, safer environment for their only child. Except you don't just leave the Whisperers.

"They hunted us down for days. With their masks on, we couldn't tell them apart from the dead. They got us after four or five days. We were starving and too weak to go on. They took us back to the camp, then Alpha had them tortured and killed right in front of me. After that, they would wear their faces around the camp for fun." Tim had told him, reviving those terrible memories while telling Paul this. "I was kept alive and raised by them. They became my new family. They even grew on me, eventually. Some of them, at least.

\- Lydia, Paul had said calmly, thinking of Daryl while he said it.

\- She saved my life, Paul. Nobody runs from these people. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her. I have to do something. But I can't do it alone. I need you. "

Tim is not talking now. He looks defeated, almost angry at himself, or Paul, or maybe no one in particular, Paul could not say. Part of him wants to believe the kid's story, but he can't take a decision before the others are back with Daryl.

"The drugs you gave Daryl…, Paul begins, why did you bring them with you ?"

The boy answers in a whisper, never looking up : "All I got is the knife your friends took from me.

\- That doesn't answer my question, Paul pointed out, though now he knows why Tim is angry, he had been so protective of his weapon back in the woods.

\- I want it back, Tim says louder, determined to get his knife back. I want it back now.

\- Once Daryl's here and I see for myself you were telling the ruth, not before, Paul answered, not unkindly.

\- I am telling the truth, yelled Tim in exasperation, startling Paul in the process.

\- Then, you will get it back. I promise you that. This… is only temporary. We have rules here. It's not that simple.

\- It is simple. Are you the leader or not ?

\- Jesus !, a voice calls out from up there that Paul knows to be Alden's."

He had sent Alden to look for Daryl. Paul runs his way out of the underground jail, trying not to ponder over what Timothy had just said to him, and joins Enid and Aaron, Alden at his heels. Paul sees the dog in his hands, his breathing erratic and weak. He turns to check on Daryl's state, which is pretty much the same, though Paul quickly notices that Daryl, unlike his little friend, seems conscious enough to understand what is happening. Tara rushes in not long after, before Enid could explain to Paul what was wrong with him, looking down on Daryl's body in distress.

"Is he alive ?, she hastens to ask Enid.

\- Yes. But I need the hospital wing cleared out and all my stuff moved there while Aaron and I transport him there. We have to be quick or he'll overdose.

\- On it, Tara tells her before rushing back to Barrington House to get everything ready for Daryl.

\- What do I do with him ?, Alden asks, the dog starting to shake dangerously in his arms. I think he's having a seizure of some kind, En."

Enid had already taken Daryl's legs tightly when she turns slightly to look at Dog and her boyfriend holding him.

"Bring him in, too, she sighs. But Daryl, you are top priority right now, she then declares to Daryl, whose face was going almost as pale as snow."

Her and Aaron hurry to take him the house while Alden follows behind, leaving Paul alone and confused as to what he is supposed to be doing to be useful. He decides it's best for everyone if he stays outside and wait there. He realizes just now how many people had gathered around the scene and are now staring at him, as confused as he is.

After an hour, he was on his own again, sitting on Barrington's front steps, waiting and so tired it was as if he had just run a marathon.

People go in and out of their homes, occasionally glancing at Paul as they do.

Paul doesn't hear Aaron's approaching steps and jumps when he sits next to him, which seems to amuse Aaron.

"Siddiq would be proud of his protégée."

And that's all Paul needs to hear to understand Daryl is going to live. Then, he thinks about Dog.

"What about the dog ?

\- It's more complicated, he says after a moment.

\- What do you mean ?

\- He's in a coma. Enid doesn't know if he'll ever wake up from it. She wants to send for Siddiq, ask him to come and have a look at him. But she needs an autorisation."

_From you_ , Paul knows he wants to add. But Aaron says no such thing. He patiently waits for Paul's opinion on the matter, or permission. When Paul says nothing Aaron goes on.

"I must go back to Alexandria before nightfall. I could take her message for her and sneak Siddiq out without Michonne knowing about this.

\- Don't you think we're keeping too much things from her ?

\- I'm not happy about it, either, Jesus. Especially do something like this for a dog… but it's not just any the dog, is it ? You know how much Daryl cares about it. I'm scared of Daryl's reaction if he finds out we can't do anything for it. He's lost so much already over the years. Too much. We all have."

Aaron's words are still echoing in his mind when Daryl's voice brings him back to Earth. He's been at Daryl's bedside for thirty minutes and Enid had told Paul Daryl would probably not wake up until next morning, but he's awake now. He waits for Paul to say something first, as he often does when Paul visits him in the woods. He want to let him know he had freed the boy, Tim, and that Aaron was currently riding back to Alexandria to try and convince Siddiq they need him at the Hilltop so Dog can be seen by him and maybe, maybe have a chance of getting out of that coma one day. But because Daryl looks so relaxed, and Paul doesn't feel like talking right now, he decides it will have to wait until tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hesitate to tell me what you thought about this chapter ! Hope you enjoyed !


	5. Didn't mean to happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl wakes up and Paul doesn't know what to do.

"It's been over twelve hours now. We should really wake him up.

\- Alden, he needs to rest. Please, go fetch me some more water. Makes sure it's icy cold. The fever's going down, let's make sure it's not going up again."

When Daryl opens his eyes, it's not Enid and Alden that are here with him, and that confuses him a little, which Paul sees. He gives Daryl a tired smile and sighs almost immediately after. He's dreading Daryl's reaction to Timothy being here, at the Hilltop, free to go where he wants. Daryl looks at him like he's trying to analyse him, probably sensing something is wrong.

"Where's Enid ?, Daryl asks before Paul could speak, taken him aback.

\- I... don't know. Probably getting a much deserved rest.

\- But she was there… I mean, just now. I heard her…

\- You must have been dreaming. I've been here alone with you all night."

Paul wants to punch himself in the head the moment he finishes his sentence.

"I mean, Enid said we shouldn't leave you alone in your state, he hastens to add."

Daryl only nods, apparently buying Paul's lie. But all of sudden, as if he has just remembered something very important, Daryl grabs Paul's arm tight. Paul winces a little at the pain. His heart beats fast against his chest when he sees the look of terror on Daryl's face.

"Dog !, Daryl only said, and Paul tries to give him a reassuring smile, which has no effect at all.

\- He's stable. Aaron's going to bring Siddiq to Hilltop so he can have a look at him. All the stuff Tim put into him went away, so he's in no immediate danger...

\- He's okay or not ?, Daryl asks, cutting him off.

\- I think he will be.

\- Where's that little shit…, Daryl mumbles while trying to get out of bed"

Paul moves quickly before he can get up and holds him down firmly. Daryl is too weak to fight and he knows it, and so doesn't even try. Paul knows how much Daryl cares about Dog, everybody does. But seeing the look of complete distress passing over his friend's face leaves Paul a little confused. It was just a dog, after all. He's starting to wonder if Daryl is afraid of losing his little companion or if he really is afraid of losing anyone or anything again. Or maybe he did love this dog very much. People tend to get attached very quickly to animals, Paul knows. But he can't shake the feeling there is something else underneath it all. That it isn't just about Dog. Rick is what Paul thinks of right away. It always comes down to Rick in the end.

"The boy, Daryl begins, where is he ? Has he found the camp ?"

Paul doesn't answer immediately, thinking of ways to tell Daryl what he needs to tell him.

"He's here, he finally says.

\- Here ?

\- We're still discussing whether or not he should stay or if...

\- What ?, Daryl interrupts again, disbelieving.

\- We can't let him go now that he knows where we live and how many people there are at Hilltop, you know that. Besides, there's still this Lydia business I haven't told the others about yet.

\- You're really considering sending your people to what could be a trap to save a girl who may not even exist ?

\- I'm not going to send anyone anywhere. That's not what I said, Paul says defensively.

\- So, what are you gonna do ?

\- I can't make a decision on my own, I'll have to talk to Tara first.

\- No, what you gotta do is to stop being so trusting with people you don't even know, Jesus. This boy may look young and innocent but he grew up in this world, unlike you and me. And don't forget we caught him spying on us in the woods. Do you think about what could have happened if Dog hadn't smelled him ?"

Paul doesn't know the answer to that. But he couldn't let the boy go, not anymore. He has no choice and feels himself trapped into a corner he puts himself in.

He was tired of trying to reason with Daryl. Something in that boy unsettles Daryl and Paul doesn't know what it is. Then, he remembers the mask. This horrible, decomposed face Tim was wearing on his own. He is walking his way home when he catches sight of him. Paul almost didn't recognise him; Tim has washed and somebody gave him new clothes. In his old, too big, and dirty own clothes, with the mask on, Paul had taken the young boy for a man grown the first time he saw him. Now he looks even younger than fourteen. He's just a boy. Daryl believes him corrupted by the world he was forced to grow up in but Paul can only see a boy who lost everything. Tim reminds Paul of himself at his age, an orphan with no friends and no one he could really trust, and who no one really trusted, either.

_People fear us because we've got nothing to lose,_ Paul remembers one of the grown ups telling him back at the group home where he grew up, when he was thirteen and feeling more alone than he had ever felt before. _They don't trust you because they can't believe an orphan kid can turn out okay after being abandoned by his own parents._ The memory of that day deepens the hole in Paul's heart and he starts feeling sick.

"Told you he was going to be pissed."

Tim's smile lightens Paul's heart a little and he can't help giving the boy a polite smile in return.

Tim looks happier than he did back in his underground cell. But the tone of his voice betrays his nervosity. He is waiting for Paul's decision and Paul hasn't decided what he was going to do yet.

"He is, isn't he ? Your friend, I mean. For what I did to him.

\- It's not him he's worried about. You hurt his dog. In fact, I don't know if our doctors will be able to save him.

\- I didn't mean for it to happen. You have to believe me.

\- But why did you do it in the first place, Tim ? I don't understand, Paul adds in a sigh.

\- You left me alone with him !"

The whimpering again. Paul tries to remain calm and patient, not wanting to upset the boy.

"I don't trust him, Tim says calmly after a pause, I knew I had to go with you, that you wouldn't hurt me."

Paul doesn't like the boy's assumptions about Daryl but still says nothing, he wants Tim to feel like he can trust him. He doesn't want the boy to feel misunderstood and run away, not with all the information he had about Paul's group.

"You're going to tell your story again. Not only to me but to other people as well, so they can understand. Then, we can discuss it later and…"

He was going to say "take a decision" but changes the words last second.

"So they can help me take the right decision.

\- So, you'll get the final say ? Not them ?

\- Yes, Paul lied. I will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading if you did and don't hesitate to leave a comment to tell me what you thought. Any feedback is highly appreciated. :)


	6. The meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul needs guidance and calls up a meeting… in which Daryl isn't invited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this new chapter !

The day after Daryl woke up, he and Paul haven't spoken to each other again yet. Paul has been avoiding him, knowing all too well how easy Daryl could influence him in his decision. He called up a meeting with Tara, Kal and Eduardo, so they can all agree on what to do with Timothy, leaving Daryl out on purpose. He could always use the excuse of the hunter still having to rest, later.

Timothy had told the others the same tale he told Paul. Tara had been somewhat skeptical, as Paul knew she would be. Kal and Eduardo were so surprised to even be part of the few in the confidence that they didn't really know what to think of Tim or what to say to him except the usuals "sorry" and "we'll see what we can do" once they found out about what had happened to the boy's parents.

The meeting takes place in Paul's trailer, while Timothy waits inside Barrington House. Paul knows the room he put him in was probably guarded by Daryl, who did not want the boy to wander around unsupervised. Tara is silent right now, which is odd, while Eduardo seems to have a lot to say now that the boy isn't here. It isn't easy to say the truth in front of a child, after all. Tim is fourteen but looks so much younger, Eduardo didn't want to upset him, Paul knew.

"Look, Jesus, Eduardo begins in an exasperated tone, I know you mean well, and I mean, Timothy is just a kid, but...

\- You shouldn't have brought him here, Tara finishes for him, in a not unkind tone.

\- Yeah."

Kal nods, seemingly agreeing with his friends, which makes feel Paul uncomfortable. He is the leader of this Community, their leader, but he just can't bring himself to enforce decisions on them like Maggie could. It only reminds him once again how it shouldn't be him leading all of these people, that he is not made for making decisions that could impact the whole group, in a good, but also in a bad way. He isn't ready to take full responsability for what happens after.

Now he realises the mistake he made in not letting Daryl join in. The man has experience, more than Paul, Kal and Eduardo reunited when it comes to situations like this one. Paul had acted out of emotions, not thinking with his head but with his heart. His head hurts so bad he wants to scream but only sighs heavily, indecisiveness slowly letting its place to frustration.

"If you guys were in my place, if you could decide what to do with Timothy, what would you do ? No, what would you have done, if you'd found a boy alone and scared in the woods, telling you he's running away from people who murdered his parents in cold blood and who had no other choice than to run away from them ? If he begged you to help him because if you don't, they'll find him and he doesn't want to be assaulted like, apparently, a friend of his was by savages who think it's a normal thing to do to kids, as well as wearing dead people's faces onto their own ? What would you have done, then ?"

They have nothing to say that, and Paul is not surprised. Nobody tries to see how complexe the situation is for him, and how it would be for them if they could only be in his shoes for a day. For the second time in what was probably something like five minutes, Paul wishes Daryl was here. Daryl has his flaws, he's quick to anger and can be more stubborn than even Paul is, which is rare. But Daryl would also have said something now, and not just stare at him with as much unease as Tara, Kal and Eduardo were doing right now. Despite this, Paul feels bad for snapping at them the way he did. He realises they're just as scared as he is that he made a terrible mistake in taking the boy back to the camp with him.

_You've got nothing to lose, but we do,_ is what Paul can hear them think through the look they're giving him in this moment.

_But I have everything to lose. I care, as much as you do. Maybe even more than that._

He wants to tell them as much, but he can't. People assume he doesn't care about anyone, always have, all his life, not really, not enough, and he used to believe that was the case for a very long time, too. Until he met Rick's group. Until he realised he could lose all the people he knew in the then coming war against the Saviors. He could lose more than a place to stay. He could lose _them_ , his _family_ , even if the word would always tastes weird in Paul's mouth.

"The question is, Jesus, what do you want to do now ?"

Tara is looking at him expectantly, and so are Kal and Eduardo. Paul closes his eyes, thinking hard for a good solid minute before answering her.

"Timothy could be lying, and really be here for bad motives that could lead to something just as bad, I know that, I do. But he could also be telling the truth. And if that's the case, another kid like him is in danger right now and we can do something about it. Tim knows how many people consist his group, he knows where they're living...

\- Wait, Kal stops Paul, what the hell, Jesus ? You're not sending people of our own out there to rescue some girl we don't even know !

\- I'm not too cool with it, either, carefully adds Tara, but the kid said they raped her. And maybe even others. I mean, you can't be insensible to that, can you ?

\- He also said their leader was allowing it, Eduardo intervenes. Although I don't like the idea of letting the boy stay here, or go on a rescue mission without even knowing if it's a trap or not, I don't know if doing nothing would be the smart thing to do right now...

\- Exactly, Tara butts in, we have to think about the possibilty of these people deciding to track Timothy down like they did with his parents when he was a child. There's a high probability the crazy fuckers could find us if we do nothing."

Tara is right. The Whisperers represents a threat to them, no matter what they decide to do or not do. Kal is not indifferent to their words, either. He seems to take them into consideration but can't help to add :

"If Tim lied, though, we're talking about sending our people right into these maniacs' trap. I think everyone should know what's coming for them if you really decide to help him, Jesus. Not just the three of us."

And they will, Paul tells himself. But not before he goes to Daryl first. He sought recomfort from the other man so often in the last year that it was only natural to include him in on this now, too. Daryl has been scared for his dog, and that led him to react the way he did to Tim being in proximity. Paul had been unfair to him, in thought if not in word; Daryl didn't have all the facts, after all. He doesn't know what those "Whisperers" people really are or the threat they pose.

He asked Tara to come with him to fill Daryl in. They find Daryl near the room Paul had told the boy to wait in. He has been lurking about Tim's room, as Paul had expected. Daryl is not limping (he had, when Enid made him try and walk around the house, according to Alden to whom Paul had asked after Daryl this morning) and seems well rested, he is glad to see, Tara greets him warmly while Paul braces himself for what they're about to tell him. Though with Tara by his side, who Daryl has grown close to over the years and trusts more than he does most people here, gives Paul more confidence than if he was to do it on his own.

But Daryl pays his full attention on him and only him, which troubles Paul a little. He's still surprised, years after their first meeting, whenever Daryl pays him more attention than to the others in the room with them.

"I called a meeting earlier this afternoon, he announces. Eduardo, Kal and Tara heard Tim's full story, and I'd like you to hear it, too.

\- I already did.

\- You don't know everything. There's more. It isn't just about Tim's friend anymore, it's a lot bigger than that.

\- What do you mean ?

\- Well, Tara steps in, Timothy tried to escape before, with his family…"

Tara told Daryl the same story she had been told herself earlier. Hearing it for the third time does not make it any less disturbing for Paul.

"Needless to say, Paul concludes when Daryl stays silent, if they tracked him and his parents down for days on then, they're not going to let him go now. They could find your camp, then, it'd be a matter of days before they find this place. And it could all end very badly for us.

\- I ain't the leader, Daryl says after a while, but if I were, I wouldn't trust anything that comes out of that kid's mouth till I got proof he ain't lying. If he says there are thirty of those Whisperers guys for instance, you gotta anticipate twice the numbers. Says they don't have guns, only knives, remember he told us as much in the woods and I ended up with some poison shit in my veins, and so did my dog. I talked to Enid yesterday after you left, the dog's in a coma and she doesn't know what to do. Got to send Aaron to get Siddiq out of Prison Alexandria so he can help her out. All I'm saying is, just play it safe. We don't know what he's really capable of."

Paul nods at that. Daryl is right, they need to prepare for every eventuality. But Paul already knows this.

Or he does when Tim is not around...

The boy has a way of making Paul doubt everything, even his closest friends. He looks so vulnerable when Paul speaks alone with him, it's like he's speaking with another boy, not the one who attacked Daryl, but one who needs his protection, one who needs somebody to listen to him, to _understand_ , to _see,_ to _trust_.

_You've got nothing to lose, you've already lost your whole family and you're all alone, so they fear you._

_Except you aren't._

_Lydia. He's got Lydia._

_And I've got them._


	7. Careful

Tara is sitting at Paul's desk, a desk that Paul himself still secretly considers to be Maggie's more than his own, when he enters the room, startling her. He doesn't mind Tara to sit in what is supposed to be his seat, and knowing that, Tara doesn't bother to move. She only gives Paul one of her reassuring smile that he appreciates so much in times like these. He loves Maggie with all his heart but it wasn't the same with her. He never felt his voice as heard as when he was with Tara. Watching her in his seat right now seems so right to Paul that for a moment, he wants to ask her if she'd be willing to be the new leader. But he can't, he can't run away from this and expect everything to get better. Tara sees his troubled expression on his face. She holds out a hand for him to grab and he does. She gives his hand a little squeeze and another smile.

"What is it ? she asks calmly despite the worry Paul can hear in her voice.

\- I lied. I took the decision to bring Timothy here before I knew what had happened to him and his parents.

\- Why ?

\- I don't know. I was worried about Daryl and couldn't think straight. I also didn't want Timothy to escape a second time and get to Hilltop before I do. The only option was to shoot him down and you know I can't do that. Even if, believe me, I thought about it when I didn't see Daryl with him."

He feels like he was rambling and not really explaining her the reason that pushed him to do what he did. But Tara seems to get it.

"You should inform everybody what's going on and what you decided to do about the kid, she just says to him after a while, letting go of his hand and getting up to leave. I'll let people know you want everyone to assemble all at the same place so you can speak to them at, say, around 8. Okay for you ? she finally asks him.

\- Yeah. Thanks, Tara, he hastens to add."

She squeezes his arm comfortly and leaves the room.

Tim had the green light and could wander around the camp again, Daryl can see from the steps of the "Big House" as Aaron likes to call it when alone with Daryl. Both find the building kind of pretencious and would often laugh about it. Daryl is thinking of Aaron now because he's thinking of Dog. Siddiq should be here in a couple of days and the hunter fears his little companion may not have all that time before him. He stares at the boy, Timothy Paul had told him his name is. Daryl knew a Timothy back when the world wasn't so fucked up, when this Timothy playing in the grass with the other kids right now wasn't even born yet, probably. Daryl can't remember much about this Timothy from the now lost world, only that he had a dog Merle liked to call "nasty bitch". Both he and Daryl were kids at the time, and both had always wanted a dog at home. Daryl loved that dog with all his heart. When Tim died, their dad accepted the dog to stay with them, which was the last nice thing Daryl ever remembers his dad doing for his family. Merle stuck with the name "nasty bitch" and forbid Daryl to give her a name. But little Daryl refused to call such a nice dog such a horrible name, and so started simply calling her "Dog".

His eyes sting at the memory, so he stops thinking altogether and focus only on the kids playing in front of him, keeping a close eye on Timothy in particular, whom Daryl just now notices how young and innocent he looks in this moment, so much, in fact, that it's getting harder and harder to stay mad at him. The boy probably didn't want to hurt him or Dog. He had his reasons for doing what he did, Daryl guesses. Growing up with people like the ones he grow up with must have messed with his head pretty hard, and he can't be held totally responsible for his actions. He is only fourteen, after all.

Tim looks up and catches sight of him staring. His smile slowly fades away and he suddenly looks guilty, almost bad for having fun while Daryl was worried sick about the dog he had hurt, or so Daryl thinks. He's not in the boy's head, he can't really know what he is feeling. Tim doesn't look away, though, even when the other kids call him. He gets up from the grass, says something to his new found friends and walks towards Barrington House, and Daryl.

He stops in front of Daryl, looking him in the eye.

"How is he ? The dog. Is he okay ?

\- Yeah, Daryl answers, taken aback.Enid told me you didn't know what exactly was the drug you inject us.

\- I don't, he simply states, shrugging.

\- You could have killed us, Daryl spits, annoyed at the boy's attitude.

\- I thought you were going to hurt me, complained Tim, in this irritable whimpering Daryl hates so much. I saw the rope, and… he starts hesitantly.

\- And what ? Daryl asks, less aggressive.

\- That's what they used for Lydia, my friend, when they wanted to do things with her… things she didn't want to do. They have to tie her up so she can't fight back. The others, they don't fight it. But Lydia, she always fights."

Despite how horrific this whole thing seems to Daryl, he can't bring himself to believe a word of it. Tim told this story like one would tell what they ate for dinner last night, no emotions, voice even, never looking away from Daryl, as if he was gauging his reactions. The kid makes Daryl incredibly uncomfortable. He does not act the same around Jesus, or any of the others. In this moment, he doesn't look as innocent anymore.

"I'm sorry about the dog. I hope it gets better. I really do, Tim says when Daryl doesn't react or say anything.

\- Thanks, reluctantly answers Daryl."

Tim gives him the brightest smile Daryl has ever seen, which makes his face looks even more babyish, but equally more disquieting. He returns playing with the other two kids without another word, and Jesus takes his place, appearing so suddenly that makes Daryl jump.

"Hey. You're feeling better ? he asks with a thin smile, looking more tired than Daryl has ever seen him.

\- I was thinking about going back to the camp. Tomorrow morning. There's stuff I need there. Dog food and the rest.

\- Oh."

Daryl would gladly ask Jesus to come with him, his presence always quiet the dark thoughts in his head, but it doesn't work like that between them. Daryl is at his camp, Jesus visits whenever he feels too under pressure, or just to forget about his responsabilities for a while, and that's it. Daryl doesn't invite him over, him or anyone. Not even Carol, whom he is very close to. Asking people to come over, it would be like admitting to feeling lonely, or have need of a friend, someone to talk to. Open yourself to others in short. He did it once, with Rick, Carol, Maggie and all the others he thinks of as family. Then, half of them died and the other half left him once they found a family of their own. Nobody needs Daryl, so Daryl has to learn not to need anyone.

"I could ask Kal to come with you, proposes Jesus. Traveling alone might not be the best of idea right now.

\- Nah, I'm fine."

Daryl hates Kal and he is sure Kal doesn't like him, either. The guy can't stand being wrong, ever. He always needs to have the last word and people like that irritate Daryl. He gets up, Jesus' worried eyes making him too self-conscious about everything he does to just stay still.

"I'm going to make a little speech. Tell people what we know and what we're considering to do about those Whisperers people. I didn't ask Tim about them yet. How many they are, where exactly is their camp… I will need all the info I can get before I tell anyone anything. But Don't worry, I didn't forget what you told me. If he tells me a number, I double it, etc.

\- We gotta be careful, Daryl sighs.

\- I know. I will be."

There is a sadness in Jesus' eyes that leaves Daryl puzzled. He wants to ask him what's wrong, but as it is often the case, he can't bring himself to. So, he gently pats him on the shoulder. Jesus seems surprised by the touch. Daryl quickly takes off his hand, he has done it unconsciously and is as surprised as Jesus is. Daryl is relieved when Jesus smiles at him before he walks away, presumably going to do what he said he would and talk to Timothy. Daryl doesn't stay to find out, he gets Inside the Big House to check on Dog before Jesus' speech.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed !


	8. Tara's decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for decisions.

"Twenty, maybe thirty people" was what Timothy answered him when Paul asked the boy how many the Whisperers were.

 _Double the numbers._ Daryl's voice echoes in Paul's head as he walks towards the centre of the colony, where his people wait for him.

He knew Tim's story would provock fear and indignation from some of the residents. But the story was clear; Tim was a victim and not one of the Whisperers. It doesn't stop some people to be mad at Paul for letting Tim into their home in the first place, knowing all this.

Paul and Tara try their best to convince everyone Timothy is not dangerous, and are soon joined by Eduardo when things threaten to get out of hands.

During the whole discussion, Tim has remained quiet, his eyes never leaving sight of the ground under his feet, looking more miserable than Paul has ever seen him. While Eduardo tries to reason with everyone, Paul is considering having Tim explained what had happened to him and his parents himself, so that, maybe, they could understand the situation better. Understand Paul's decision better.

"If we do nothing and let those people find us, we're not only putting ourselves in danger, but Alexandria and the Kingdom as well."

Every eyes are now on Earl, who is the one speaking. Paul can't tell if he is on his side or not. But when he opened his mouth, all the others fell silent, and Paul is grateful for that.

"It isn't just about saving this Lydia girl, Earl continues. There are direction signs everywhere, on the road, in the forest... if they find this place, they'll be able to get to the others right after they're done with us.

\- You heard the kid, a young woman tells Earl, there are only thirty of those assholes. I say let them come. We'll get rid of them, as we did with Negan and his people years ago."

Alden looks uncomfortable. He's with them now but he always seem troubled when somebody mention his ex group. Paul sees Enid squeeze his hand in comfort while the majority of people mutter in agreement to Giulia's words. Paul spots Daryl in the crowd, looking so sad Paul worries something has happened to Dog.

"We don't have to fight them, Paul says over the loud voices of his people.

\- We'll have to if we want to help Lydia escape them, interrupts Tim, a look of concern on his face. We can't leave her there. She's different from the others. She helped me."

The silence that follows Tim's plea lasts for what seems like hours. It is like everyone suddenly realise what Tim is; just a kid. Everyone but Daryl, who Paul sees is staring at them with an expression that seems to say "you can't fool me".

"Should we vote ? Proposes Earl after a moment."

The mutterings start again, voices growing louder and louder as people tell their opinions on the matter.

"We elected a leader so we didn't have to worry about things like these !"

"We can still tell him what we think !"

"We vote and talk after !"

"I'm not going to these maniacs' camp, I'm telling you right now, Jesus !"

Tara steps in and has to shout to be heard.

"Earl spoke about those direction signs earlier, she begins. Finding the Hilltop and the other communities will be easy for the Whisperers if we just stand by and do nothing. We don't have to fight them, though, Jesus is right. We don't even have to send any one of you to help Timothy's friend, she looks at Tim while saying that. I'll help the girl escape. With your help, Tim."

They never discussed that, Paul realises. He stares at Tara in shock, confused by the whole thing. He wants to tell her she can't, he's about to do just that when Tim speaks.

"You'll never get out of there alive if you go alone.

\- On the contrary, the more people come, the more dangerous it will get. I only need you to draw a map of the place they're staying and tell me everything you can about your friend, the full description.

\- I'll come with you, Daryl steps closer, all eyes on him now. We'll stop by my camp, sleep there tonight and follow the kid's tracks to their camp. You'll need me for that if you don't want to get lost in the woods."

Paul shuts his eyes for a couple of seconds and sighs, before he joins the conversation.

"What about your dog ? He asks, half hoping it would make Daryl reconsider his decision, while knowing full well it would not.

\- He's safe here for now. I'm leaving him in good hands, he glances at Enid, who gives him a sad smile."

Paul knows nothing he could say can stop Tara and Daryl from going. He looks at Tim, who cheered up a bit after Tara said she would help Lydia. The boy looks at him, his eyes pleading for him not to try and stop his friends from risking their lives for a girl they don't even know. What if Daryl is right ? What if it is all a trap ? Should they believe Tim ? He tried to. He wants to. He has to. If he doesn't trust the boy, who will ? And what if he isn't lying ?

_"Get used to being mistrusted by people you don't know, Paul. You got nothing to lose. Nothing at all. And they got everything to lose."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Happy New Year !! :D


	9. For Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dog is not doing so well, leading to some tensions between Jesus and Daryl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's a slighty longer chapter than the others. Enjoy !

"I'll help the girl escape. With your help, Tim."

Daryl thinks this is the stupidest idea he's ever heard. Tim says it's too dangerous to go there alone but Tara doesn't listen. Daryl does listen, though. He doesn't trust the boy one bit, but he isn't going to ignore what he says when it comes to the Whisperers. Then, he sees something in Jesus' eyes, something that makes it clear for Daryl they haven't spoken about the eventuality of Tara having to go on some crazy rescue mission on her own.

Daryl thinks of Dog, and how useless he is to him by waiting around for Siddiq to come, when he could go to the assholes whose drugs are in Dog's system and find out what exactly are those drugs. That would help Siddiq and Enid to know what they're dealing with. He knows he's still not doing so well himself but he also knows he's got to do something or he'll go insane.

"I'll come with you," Daryl makes up his mind. He finds some excuse for him to tag along, an excuse Tara can't ignore because she's shit at tracking people down or reading a map. Jesus told him once that Maggie had tried to teach Tara how to read maps. By Jesus' tone, Daryl had assumed it didn't end well.

Jesus steps up, and speaks for what feels like only the second time since the beginning of that whole discussion.

"What about your dog ?"

_I'm doing this stupid thing for him._

"I'm leaving him in good hands."

After he has taken a much needed shower, Daryl searches into Jesus' drawers to find some clothes that would fit him, when the latter comes in unannounced. Daryl almost drop the bath towel he has around his hips when he does. He can't help but notice Jesus' eyes lingering on his body for a few seconds. Guilt on his face afterwards tells Daryl he probably didn't mean to do it. He composes himself and tries to speak, more embarrassed than even Daryl.

"Sorry ! I thought- Never mind. Sorry.

\- It's just that… once you said I could use your shower and, Daryl starts.

\- No ! I mean, yes ! Of course, Jesus cuts him off.

\- Said it's cool to borrow some of your clothes, Daryl goes on, not knowing what else to say.

\- Yeah, sure. Take whatever you need. I just… can we talk when you're ready ?

\- Yeah, OK.

\- OK."

When Daryl says nothing else, Jesus finally decides to leave the room. Once the door closes behind him, leaving Daryl alone, Daryl chuckles at the ridiculous scene that has just happened, more by embarrassment than because he found it funny. Daryl doesn't mind people seeing him without his clothes on, save for the scars on his back that he's still learning to accept as being part of himself and his past, though with Jesus it's different. He often feels self-conscious around the other man when he finds himself in vulnerable situations. Daryl doesn't know why that is, and he's not sure he wants to find out.

He manages to find clothes that aren't too tight on him after a moment, throws the towel on the bed, puts on his shoes and picks up his dirty, blood stained own clothes and put them in a bag Enid had found for him after the reunion, and takes off. He wants to check on his little buddy before he leaves, and so heads to the room Dog was brought in when they first got here, a couple of days ago.

Enid is here, taking Dog's pulse when he's coming in. She glances at the door to see who it is, and sighs heavily when she sees Daryl's face. Daryl frowns at that, and can't seem to get closer, not sure he wants to know if he wants to hear what Enid is about to tell him or not. She strokes the dog gently, then faces Daryl again. In this moment, Daryl realises how much the girl has grown. Not in height, but in everything else. He remembers the teenage girl he met at Alexandria all those years ago and can't believe this is her now.

"Daryl, I'm doing the best that I can, she says in a mix of frustration and tiredness, though not unkindly. I'm really trying.

\- I know, Daryl reassures her.

\- I don't want to lie to you, I don't know if he's going to make it to tomorrow. I'm so sorry, Daryl. I know how much Dog means to you…"

But Daryl stopped listening when she said what he had dreaded most the moment he saw her face when he entered the room. He closes his eyes for a minute, trying not to react badly to the news. He squeezes Enid's shoulder when he opens them again, trying to make her understand he does not blame her, not capable to speak. He wants to reach out to Dog, he wants to stroke him gently like Enid did only minutes ago, tells him he's going to be okay, that he's going to find the people that made these drugs Timothy had put in his system and make them tell him what they are, so he can tell Enid and Siddiq, if Siddiq makes it here in time. Perhaps this knowledge will help them save his dog. He has to hope that it would. He looks away from Dog, away from Enid, wanting to get going as soon as possible.

"Daryl," Enid calls before he can leave.

He turns his head so he can look her in the eye.

"Daryl, do you think this a good idea ? Going after those people ? I mean, we know nothing about them apart from what the boy that did this to you and Dog told us. I don't trust him. Something in me tells me I shouldn't, at least. And I know it's the same for you. Jesus wants to see the good side in everyone but we know by experience it's not the best way of doing things.

\- What else can we do ?

\- Warn the other communities. Michonne.

\- You know Michonne. You know she would want nothing to do with any of this. 

\- Maybe. But don't you think they deserve to know ? What if those Whisperers did find the direction signs Rick's had us put everywhere in the area ? They may be only thirty or whatever Jesus said they were, it's still enough to do a lot of damage. Especially if they attacked the Kingdom or Alexandria when they didn't even expect an attack."

Rick's mention had made Daryl look in the other direction. He hates when people bring up Rick so casually in conversation when he can't even think of the man without feeling his heart sink.

"Tell Michonne and the others about the Whisperers if you want, he spats at her, angry more at himself than at her. But Tara and I are still going tonight."

He can't wait for Michonne and Ezekiel's response. His dog is dying and needs him to do something now. He doesn't let Enid try and convince him to do whatever she wants him to do and leaves the room quickly, taking care in not glancing into the dog's direction while he does and shuts the door behind him.

Dark thoughts are slowly making their way into Daryl's head when he almost bumps into Jesus, himself too lost in thoughts to pay attention where he was walking. Daryl mumbles some excuse and makes to go but Jesus places himself in front of him and the exit door.

"Wait. I wanted to talk to you, remember ? he reminds him in a tone that leaves no other choice to Daryl than to listen.

\- Right. What is it ?

\- Tara was right when she says the more people came, the more dangerous it would get for those involved. But Tim says they live near the forest, in a open field. It won't be easy to get there unnoticed, no matter the number we are.

\- I already know that.

\- I was thinking, maybe Tim should come."

Daryl says nothing to that, surprised at Jesus' sudden lack of care about what could happen to the boy if he went back to the place he just escaped from. In fact, Daryl comes to the conclusion it could never be Jesus' idea. He doesn't speak his mind, though, not yet. He wants to hear the rest first.

"So, Jesus resumes, encouraged by Daryl's silence. I thought I could join you, too. It's hard for Tim to trust anyone but me at the moment, and I think it'd be more reassuring for him if I went.

\- If it goes wrong, if we can't reach Lydia and get caught, the kid will probably be killed. They killed his parents when they tried to escape, right ? You're really willing to take the risk ?"

It seems to Daryl that Jesus had thought about that, judging by the annoyed expression on his face right now, as if he had already been through this already.

"Tim wants to come, Jesus simply says.

\- Yeah, I figured.

\- I tried to talk him out of it, trust me. But he's very stubborn. To convince you, I thought it'd be better if I made you believe the idea came from me.

\- You were wrong. And so was I.

\- What do you mean ?

\- I wouldn't have thought you the lying to get what he wants type. Though, you did try and rob me and Rick the first time we met. Should have rung a bell, I guess.

\- No, wait…"

Jesus pushes the door closed when Daryl opened it, which is kind of unlike the man to do that. He looks desperate to make Daryl understand his point of view.

"Look, I know this is crazy but this kid… I have to help him, Daryl.

\- We will.

\- No, you don't understand, he says in a frustrated groan."

When Jesus tries to make contact with Daryl, Daryl pushes him away.

"I understand better than you do, Daryl retorts, to Jesus' surprise. You're letting this kid get Inside your head. He says he's worried about his friend's safety but the moment you turn your back, he plays with the other kids, no care in the world. One time, he looks desperate to help his friend, and sorry for what he did to me and Dog and again, when you turn your back, he doesn't even flinch when I tell you he could have gotten us killed. Back when were at my camp, he had his knife in hand, ready to take on both of us before Dog smelled him and caught him off guard.

\- You don't know that.

\- I know. The boy's a sociopath, Jesus, open your eyes.

\- Then, why are you helping him ?

\- Because my fucking dog is dying and only those Whisperers people know what are in the fucking shit Timothy drugged us with !"

Jesus is about to say something but keeps his thoughts to himself, as if he knew they would make Daryl feel even more like shit. Daryl thinks about all those times they spent together in the woods, away from everything and everyone, how it all seemed easy with Jesus during these moments. When he looks at Jesus now, he sees an enigma. A man you have to use codes Daryl doesn't know to communicate with.

"I don't want him to come with us, Daryl says, I don't want to give him the oppurtinity to lead us into a trap or find a way to warn his people we're coming. We gotta entertain the possibility he lied to us, about everything

\- I know that, I... Jesus begins."

Jesus looks away for a moment, visibly thinking. Daryl can't wait any longer and opens the door again. This time, Jesus does nothing to stop him.

"What would you have me do ? he asks before Daryl takes off. If you don't take him with you… and you're right about him...

\- If we don't take him with us, he'll find a way to run off and even get to his people before we do, yeah, maybe... Daryl finishes for him, resigned in having to take the boy with them.

\- "We" ?

\- Tara' ain't got nothing to do with any of this. We'll go, you and me, and Tim.

\- You know Tara. She's not giving up easily.

\- The Hilltop need her. She's far from being stupid, she'll realise that soon enough. She's their leader, after all."

Daryl knows Jesus never thought of himself as the leader of Hilltop. There was a reason he ran away from the place every month to join Daryl deep into the woods where no one could find him. Daryl also knows Jesus wouldn't take what he said the wrong way. After all, Daryl has only just said what Jesus was thinking for a while now. He even look relieved to have heard these words out loud, Daryl notices.

He suddenly realises that this is why he couldn't see the Jesus Daryl loved so much spending time with in the one in front of him right now. Playing a role, being the leader he clearly didn't want to be, all this kept him from being himself, from being the person Daryl came to think as a friend over the years. Leader Jesus was a fraud and Daryl softens a little when he remembers what it is to be in Jesus' place. He had been a leader once, at the Sanctuary. He had hated every second of it. Daryl isn't a leader, and Jesus isn't one, either. They're more alike than Daryl thought.

"You were right, Jesus says, you do understand more than you let on."

Daryl reajudts the bag with his dirty clothes on his shoulder, nodding at Jesus, and leaves the Barrington House, Jesus soon following him outside.

"It's getting dark, Daryl observes.

\- Yeah. Look, Tara is getting the horses ready, Jesus says while pointing in Tara's direction for Daryl to see."

Tim is already with her, taking care of the provisions under her supervision. Both men walk towards them, finally ready to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing in present tense (why ?) and it messes up my writing in my opinion and makes it hard to finish this fic for me even though I'm still kinda enjoying it. I just hope the writing doesn't ruin it too much for you if you're still reading this after now 9 chapters.


	10. Back at Daryl's camp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul starts to see things differently while walkers roam the woods.

It wasn't easy for Paul to make Tara understand why she needed to stay and defend the Hilltop in case of a potential attack from the Whisperers, while he would take her place on this rescue mission. But the threat is real, and if anything went wrong, the Hilltop couldn't afford to lose their leader. She had tried to convince him he was as important to the Community as she was, which Paul appreciated. But it was he who brought Timothy back with him, he who decided to leave Daryl alone with a stranger and allowed said stranger to hurt him and his dog, he who wanted to help Tim despite what the boy did.

Tim is trotting before him, Daryl on his side, never leaving him out of his sight. They have been traveling on the horses Tara had prepared for them for hours, when they finally get to Daryl's camp. It's so dark Paul marvels at the thought that they arrived all in one piece. Daryl is the first to dismount, tie his horse to a tree nearby as fast as he can before he goes over to Tim, helping him dismount, or making sure he does, Paul isn't sure. When Paul gets off the horse himself, he imitates Daryl and ties the tired animal to a tree, too, while Daryl does Tim's.

"I don't like this place," Paul hears Tim whispers to himself. He looks miserable and his eyes are starting to close on their own accord.

"Go to sleep," Paul gently orders him, offering him a reassuring smile, pretending he has not heard what the boy just said. Tim forces a smile back at him, and joins the big tent Paul motions. He would sleep outside with Daryl, as both men had discussed earlier before leaving the Hilltop.

Daryl is to take the first watch. Paul watches him pick up woods for the fire, and put them in the old blaze they had used two days ago.

_"The boy's a sociopath, Jesus, open your eyes…"_

Now when he thinks back on the day he met Tim, Paul can't help but have the image of Tim with that horrible mask of his, hand in knife, as if about to jump on them, stopped only because Dog caught him off guard. He had Daryl to thank for that. The other man is looking at him now. Paul can see he wants to speak, but something is preventing him from doing so. At any other time, Paul would have asked Daryl what was wrong, but he is so tired all he wants right now is to get some rest before he takes his watch in three hours. He sits, back on a tree, almost falling onto his bum, his legs too weak to bear his weight, and lets a heavy sigh out before slowly closing his eyes and trying not to think.

"I guess it's up to me to feed the big bastards, then," Daryl says softly, and Paul can swear he can _hear_ the smirk on his friend's face. Too worn to give him an answer, he manages to chuckle at the remark. Before he falls asleep, he hears Daryl moving around and taking care of the horses.

Funnily enough, it's not him that wakes Paul up a few hours later, but the dead silence surrounding him. He looks around and spots the flames from Daryl's fire, but no Daryl. His legs tremble under him when he stands, and his neck hurts like hell from the position he fell alseep to, his head having dangled on his chest for hours.

Paul glances over the tent, breathing hard. He takes a few careful steps towards it, and once he's near enough to enter it, takes out his gun and peeks Inside. Tim is soundly asleep from what Paul can see in the dark. Then, he spots the boy's knife next to his hand. He tell himself Tim had his knife out more by fear than because he had planned to murder both he and Daryl in their sleep, and leaves the tent, not wanting to disturb the boy's sleep.

His gun still in hand, he takes the decision to leave Tim alone at the camp while he looks for Daryl, ignoring the voices in his head that tell him not to. Daryl is missing and Paul is not going to sit around, hoping for the man to resurface. He is going to look for him, and make sure he's okay, caution be damned. For the second time this week, Paul finds the quiet of the woods unsettling. After ten minutes of wandering around in circle, or so Paul feels like it, he comes to the ghastly realisation that he has completely lost his way back to Daryl's camp. And while it's supposed to be near dawn, it feels to Paul as if it has grown even darker than when he fell asleep hours ago. The cool air makes him shiver and fear starts to make its way into his brain.

_"The dog can see me !"_

The echo of a familiar voice in his ears, almost like a whisper.

_"It sees through the guts and blood and rotten faces !"_

He is scared, Paul realises. It's just a kid. Except it's not a kid he sees moving behind the tree a few meters from him, but a man grown, strong and dangerous. A man with no face, only loose skins and old bones. The sight makes Paul sick. He is trying not to show it, not wanting to upset the boy he knows is underneath this monstrous beast.

"It's okay," Paul's terrified voice says. "It's okay."

The beast comes nearer, his face completely visible to Paul despite the deep darkness. It takes him all his courage to reach out to the beast's horrible face with his hands, so he can take the mask off him. Once he does that, Paul knows it's the boy he'll see, and the beast will disappear. He goes through his hair, behind his head but finds only skin, no mask. The beast makes a familiar sound, a sort of growl like the dead do when they come back.

Paul wakes up in a start, the sound of approaching walkers surrouding him, their particular growls echoing in his still foggy mind. There are three of them, growling at him, he realises, getting closer and closer to where Paul is. Before he has the time to get up and react, Tim stabs one of them to the head, and was done with the second when Paul had finally got out of his confused state. He stands on his feet, his body well rested and hurting nowhere. He takes out a knife from his trousers' pocket and takes care of the last walker. His eyes stung when the sunlights come through the trees into his eyes.

Daryl has left him sleep all night. Why ? Where is he ? He looks over at Tim, who has visibly just woken up, too. Paul thanks him for saving his life.

"I thought one of you was supposed to be on watch duty at all time, Tim points out angrily. Where is Daryl ?

\- He…, Paul begins, confused, I don't know."

Tim sighs, shaking his head in what Paul thinks is total disbelief. Then, he bends down on his knees to examine the dead. Paul knows he's making sure they were not Whisperers. He can't explain why, but Paul finds the boy different, colder, more confident in his attitude, as if the boy from yesterday had yielded his place to a young man with the face of a child. The mask of a child.

A few seconds pass until Daryl shows up again, having ran all the way back to the camp.

"I saw walkers pass the…," he begins to say, out of breath, before he stops himself once he spots the walkers on the ground. Tim gets up, giving Daryl a side-eye look Paul takes as contempt. He, on the other hand, has never been more relieved to see Daryl's face than in this moment. He could hug the other man, but only pats his shoulder affectionately.

"We know," he says, sighing heavily while his heartbeat slows down gradually. He allows himself to chuckle, letting all the stress from his agitated night out. Then, becoming serious again, he takes a step back from Daryl, remembering that dreadful night, and what Daryl was supposed to do. "Where were you ? You were supposed to wake me up at two. You haven't slept at all ?

\- I'm fine, Daryl simply tells him, which annoys Paul greatly.

\- Daryl, everyone needs sleep to function. Even you. We'll need all our strenghts if anything goes wrong with the Whisperers.

\- He said he's fine, Paul, Tim scolds him. You're wasting time with him when we could feed the horses and leave this place."

Paul is so taken aback by Tim's sudden change of character that he says nothing to that. Then, he glances at the walkers, and thinks Tim may act this way out of fear. Paul saw the look of panic on the young man's face when he bent over to look at the bodies more closely. Tim is terrified.

Daryl takes a quick glance at the dead bodies and seems to come to the same conclusion as Paul, or so Paul guesses when the two of them lock eyes. Daryl is the first to break eye contact to tend to the horses. He takes them in turn by the river so they can drink while Tim puts away his knife and Paul gathers all the things they'll need for the trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it ! :)


	11. No turning back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim is leading Daryl and Jesus to the Whisperers' camp, as requested. But things don't turn out the way Daryl and Jesus have expected them to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good reading ! Hope you like it...

They have been riding for a couple of hours when Daryl starts feeling the first signs of tiredness, his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier every passing minute. He's even having a hard time focusing on the road ahead, let alone keep watch on the kid properly. He allows himself to rest his eyes for a few seconds and closes them. It feels so good he has to force himself to open them again or he won't be able to if he keeps them shut for too long.

The headache at back of his head hurts so bad he wants to scream, but he can feel Jesus watching him. He screws up his face at the pain despite himself, but manages to keep quiet. When he briefly glances at the guy, Daryl can't decide whether Jesus looks worried or annoyed. Either way, it makes Daryl uncomfortable. He told Jesus he was fine, that he didn't need to rest, and here he is, about to fall from his horse from exhaustion any minute now.

He feels the cold wind piercing through his clothes, his body, to the bone, which, as much as it is unpleasant, helps him stay awake.

Tim comes at a halt and Daryl almost misses it, Jesus has to shout at him to stop, twice, before Daryl realises it. He gets off his horse as fast as he can without falling when he spots the kid off his, his knife in hand. He takes out his gun and watches Jesus does the same, still on saddle.

"Did you hear that ?" Tim asks, visibly distressed, pointing ahead. "It came from there.

\- Stay here."

Jesus kicks the horse sides and goes towards the source of the noise that's making Timothy uneasy, holding his gun before him, ready to shoot. Daryl wants to follow him but when he catches Tim giving him a funny look, he decides not to let the boy out of his sight. He isn't scared anymore, or does not look it, Daryl observes. He looks down at Tim's knife in his hand. Tim tightens his grip on the weapon.

"Aren't you going to go with him ?" Tim's voice is anxious, impatient.

Daryl glances at Jesus, who slowly makes his way towards the nuisance, out of earshot, then settles his eyes on Tim again before answering.

"You're sure what you heard wasn't the wind ? I didn't hear nothing.

\- Maybe you're going deaf. That's what happens when you get old."

Daryl lets the remark slide, too tired to protest, though not hating the younger man any less.

"It happened to my dad. You pratically have to yell at him for him to hear you now. Lydia says it's got nothing to do with old age, though. She told me that the prolonged use of guns could provock earling loss. Personally, I think it's just old age."

He has said those words so casually Daryl doesn't think Tim really realises the implications behind them.

_"You pratically have to yell at him for him to hear you now."_

But the boy's father is supposed to be dead, that's what Tim had told Jesus, what Jesus told everyone. He couldn't be yelled at anymore. Daryl's head spin and he has to close his eyes again for a couple of seconds, hoping it would help.

Jesus returns before his brain can come up with something to say or do about what has just happened, too tired to even function rightly anymore. The boy's expressions change when Jesus addresses him, he becomes the scared little boy again and Daryl is confused by it. It's like his mind can't make out what's true or false.

"There's nothing there. It's probably just the wind," Jesus reassures him.

"Sorry," Tim bends his head down in shame, "The closer we get there, the more I'm starting to think maybe I shouldn't have come.

\- Yeah, maybe not," Daryl adds curtly.

He expected Jesus to take the boy's side, as he usually does, but Jesus ignores Daryl's comment and only sighs.

"But, you're here now," Daryl goes on. "And we need you if we hope to find the damn place, don't we ?"

"We should get going," Jesus simply states, then.

Once the three of them are on their horses again, they decide to go a little faster, so they can get there before nightfall and prepare a plan of action. They will have to be quick, and discreet, if they hope to help the girl escape unnoticed. And most importantly, Daryl has to find the man or woman who made the drugs his dog is still fighting against three days after it was injected in his system. Daryl himself doesn't know if he's completely recovered from it, either. He can't help but thinking he's not only feeling weak because of a lack of sleep, but because of the effects of those drugs as well. After all, he's already spent days without sleep before, and never did he feel as miserable as he does now. His headache is getting worse and this time, his eyelides are shut before he can control anything, feeling nauseous and tired, oh so tired.

When he opens them again, he's not riding anymore. In fact, he's on the ground, in a sitting position, his wrists tied tight around someone's else, back to back to the other person. His vision is too blurred to make out where he is. The cold air on his skin tells him he's still outdoors.

_The boy. Jesus._

Daryl may not remember what happened before getting here but, in this moment, he knows for certain Timothy has led him and Jesus here, whatever "here" is.

He hears Jesus' voice whispering something in his ear, but Daryl can't hear a word, can't even see a thing. He closes his eyes tight, trying hard not to lose consciousness again, until he can't anymore.


	12. The Whisperers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for a face to face with those Whisperers people.

"Daryl ! Daryl, can you hear me ?"

Paul has noticed Daryl dozing off from time to time on his horse during the ride. But he realises now that it is not just about the sleepless night the older man had, it is something more serious than that. Tim is by Paul's side, and then he's not. But Paul half takes note on it, caring about Daryl and Daryl only for the moment. He takes his pulse, puts him in a safer lying position and finally checks on his breathing. Pulse and breathing are both slow, too slow to Paul's taste who is trying hard not to succumb to panic. He takes Daryl's hand in his, holding tight, not knowing what to do.

"Daryl, I need you to… I want you… to hold my hand if you're… if you're hearing my voice. Can you…," he interrupts himself, groans in frustration and nervousity. "Can you do that for me, please ? Daryl, you hear me ?"

Seconds pass and Daryl is not responding.

Paul lets go of his hand when he hears the horses neighing in fear, he and them hearing distant footsteps all around them. He stands quickly and finds himself surrounded by a group of walkers. They get closer and closer, passing Tim as if they haven't noticed his presence. Tim, who stands away from Paul now, still and quiet, a sad look in his eyes that never leave Paul.

Paul makes to take out his gun when he hears a shot, then feels the pain that comes with it. He looks down at his right arm, going into shock when he sees drops of his own blood falling onto the leaves and dirt that recover the woods' ground. He looks up, and he sees Tim putting the gun, Daryl's gun, away.

"It wasn't supposed to happen this way. But Daryl… he did this. This is all his fault." Tim tells him while the walkers approach Paul and Daryl.

Paul glances at Daryl at his feet, takes out his gun with his left hand, ignoring the pain in his right arm, and points it to Tim's head. He has to do it before he loses too much blood. He thinks back on the day he had almost shot the boy when he had thought Tim might have hurt Daryl. He has hated himself for even thinking about shooting down a kid ever since, until now. The walkers pause at that, the usual growling stops as well. They all stare at Paul with their horrible rotten faces.

"Put down the gun," a male voice soflty instructs Paul, a whisper that sends shiver down Paul's spine. "We are too many for you."

When he spots the walker behind that voice, his heart skips a beat. He is much taller than the others, and his face is a ruin.

_It's not a walker_ , Paul realises in terror. He thought Tim had drawn the dead to them for some sick reason, but he hadn't. Not walkers, anyway.

"Tim has told us a great deal about you and your boyfriend here over the last couple of months. You two, and your group also. To be honest," the man turns to Tim, "I expected you to bring more people." Tim avoids the man's annoyed look nervously. "But," he adds, his voice so soft comparing to his terrifying and imposing stature, settling his dark eyes on a petrified Paul again, "It will have to do."

Two of the "walkers" jump on Paul, then. Paul gets rid of them both effortlessly despite the fear and his now injured arm, though losing grip on his gun during the fight. When he tries to quickly retrieve it, all of them, but the man who spoke to him and Tim, are on him at once. No less than twenty people finally get to hold Paul down after a while. Tim is clearly impressed by Paul's fighting skills, while the man near him seems somewhat unsettled.

Once they sucessfully bands together Paul's hands behind his back, making him scream in pain when they hold his right arm down in the process, as well as his feet, they brutally throw him onto Daryl's horse. The horse makes noises of complain at the sudden weight being put on him so violently but the Whisperers manage to calm him down once Paul is properly settled on it, belly onto the horse back and legs dangling in the air. Three of them stay to keep hold on him while the others walk away.

When they get to Paul's own horse, they have a more difficult time to hold the animal down. Paul would smile if he wasn't so scared, only he can calm down Dom The Savage, as the people of Hilltop affectionately nicknamed him over time. His heart breaks at the way they handle the animal, and after a while, Dom stops fighting, too weary from the long trip.

The tight knots on his wrists hurt, though it's the pain in his arm that threatens to make Paul faint. But he's holding on, trying to catch sight of Daryl when two Whisperers, two women, pull him up. They place one arm around each shoulder, dragging Daryl's unconscious body to Dom. Dom is smaller than Daryl's horse, and much easier to put someone on. Only when Daryl is settled on the horse they tie his hands and feet with the same strings as him.

Paul doesn't have Tim in his field of vision but can hear someone he assumes is him mounting the third horse. He feels someone else jumping swiftly behind him, his torso laying on his back to get hold of the horse's reins. Paul winces, holding back tears, his wounded arm throbbing with a new wave of insufferable pain from the weight of the man on it. He gives Daryl one last glance, then keeps his eyes shut tight, suffering in silence all the way to the Whisperers' lair.

Tim had not lied about everything. These people do live right outside the woods, in a very wide open clearing. For a second Paul forgets the precarious situation he's in and admire the beauty the colours of the setting sun befalls on the green ground, leafs of multiple colours all around them, taking Paul's heavy breath away. The pain in his arm, the tiredness of the trip, the uncomfortable position he's in, Daryl still unconscious hours later after his faiting, all of this disappears for a few seconds and Paul feels _good_ , he feels as if nothing bad has happened.

_He's back in the woods with Daryl and Dog, sitting by the fire and eating whatever Daryl hunted that day, giving too much to the dog, as usual, and Paul giving half his food so that he would feed properly, the grumpy man refusing to eat Paul's meal, but giving up the fight, eventually, because Paul is "too damn stubborn"._

He smiles fondly at the memories, and wishes with all his heart he could go back to those times and tells Daryl how much these moments mean to him, and aren't only a way of escaping his duties, that it's the fact that he can spend time with him alone, just staring into each other's eyes and giggle like teenagers when it would grow awkward, Daryl's face when Paul tells a joke the other man finds bad, that just being with him brought Paul so much more happiness and comfort than anything else ever had in this life and the life before the outbreak.

The sun is getting lower, which makes Paul even more nervous. Both his hands and feet are so numb he almost falls down when they get him off the horse. The wind blast cut deep into Paul's bones, making him shake violently.

"Tie them together." a stern but quiet, female voice orders the group calmly. She has appeared so suddenly Paul jumped at her voice.

"One is hurt," warns a man. "He's lost a lot of blood."

The woman sighs heavily, and asks if it is a bite.

"No. Timothy shot him," the tall man explains, taking off his mask while he does. He looks older than he sounds, Paul notes. He's a man in his fifties, his nose and ears are large, and he has a dead look in his eyes. When all the others have done the same, he goes on. "The other guy, he wouldn't leave Timothy out of his sight, so we had to change our plans and ambush them when Timothy got hold of a gun."

" _Did you hear that ?_ _I think it came from there"_ , Tim had said earlier. He wanted them to go and take a look, lure them into a trap set by the Whisperers. But Daryl didn't go with him. They had to take them by surprise, quickly, and together, because they didn't have guns, and Paul and Daryl did, making them too vulnerable, even twenty to two.

Two young dark-haired men force him to sit on the ground, while another, older, blond and pale looking, put a warm hand on his forehead. He nods at the woman they seem to take as their leader and who is the only one who has kept her mask, then, proceeds to examine Paul's arm, after he cut off his coat's sleeve, causing Paul to wince at the pain again. The man looks at him with kind eyes.

"It's just a scratch. You're not going to die tonight, young man. I'll keep an eye on your fever, though."

The leader gets closer to Daryl, takes firmly Daryl's jaw with her long white fingers to have a closer look. Paul watches nervously while his arm is being tended to.

"Alpha," the leader, Alpha, turns to the tall man, looking at him intently as if he has interrupted her in the middle of something important. "I gave the drug to Timothy. He thinks he gave the guy too much of it.

\- You realise, Alpha replies, that too much of this drug can drive a man crazy, Beta ?" It is not a question, and she doesn't let him respond. Paul gives a horrified look at Daryl while she goes on. "And you tell me you gave it to a kid ?"

Beta doesn't flinch, his face gives nothing away. He knows better than to argue with his leader, though, keeping quiet. Paul spots Tim in the middle of the crowd. He looks like all life has left his body, a shadow of the boy Paul has met three days ago, a ghost among other ghosts.

Once his wound treated, Paul is being shoved next to Daryl, at Alpha's feet, who watches him trying to get back on his feet, and failing miserably because of his strings.

The two same women who pulled Daryl up and dragged him to Paul's horse earlier put Daryl in a sitting position, untie his hands and tie them again, with Paul's wrists this time, so that both men were back against back, uncapable to escape each other or at all. Alpha mentioned for Beta to come with her somewhere Paul would not be able to hear them talk, and everyone else just attend to their own things. He sees two men unfold tents, the doctor that treated him and a woman help with the cooking, others chatting and some making a fire to keep warm. He starts counting them, including Alpha and Beta, which make all in all forty nine people. Tim has lied, but Paul is not surprised. He looks at him now, talking to two people that could well be his parents, if they weren't dead. Unless he lied about that, too. The woman looks in his direction. She's asian, she's got short, straight black hair and looks like she must be in her forties, though it is hard for Paul to be entirely certain about that. The man next to her has got dark hair, too, smaller eyes than Tim but otherwise looking exactly like the boy, and about the same age as the woman.

 _Like his son,_ Paul thinks miserably.

He feels Daryl moving slightly, then. His heart starts beating fast against his chest, happy and excited. He softly calls Daryl, but the other man doesn't talk back. He tries to stretch his head as much as possible so his voice can reach Daryl's ears.

"Daryl, are you okay ?" he asks, keeping his voice low. "Daryl..." He painfully succeeds to grab the other man's hand after a moment. "Daryl, please, say that you're okay."

But Daryl is no longer moving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter ! X


	13. Time to pay the bill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enid takes action while Paul and Daryl are still captives of the Whisperers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get Tim's POV and other characters as well. Hope you enjoy it. Good reading !

It's been over an hour since they had brought Daryl and Paul to their camp. Yet, Tim can still feel Paul's angry stare on him. His mum had advised him to ignore the man, that Tim had nothing to feel bad for, that he had only just done what was asked of him. But Tim already knows that. He doesn't feel bad for what he did, it's not like he had any say in the matter, anyway. Besides, he hadn't lied about everything; there weren't as many people in his group as there are in Paul's, and he did have a friend named Lydia once, before the girl of seventeen had taken her own life a few months ago. Alpha had allowed Doctor Lewis and Thomas to abuse her one time too many, and the teenage girl just couldn't take it anymore.

Tim heard Beta mentionned Lydia being Alpha's own daughter once, and that had profoundly shocked the boy. His parents would never allow something like that to happen to him, he is sure of it. They would rather die than let anyone physically hurt him.

But Lydia was a rebel, she had her own way of thinking, which angered Alpha greatly and started creating tensions between the two of them, until Lydia put an end to all this. Sometimes when he can't sleep, even months after Lydia's death, Tim can still hear the girl's scream in his head, when men would drag her into the woods in the dead of night.

One time, she had told him he would be next when they get bored of her and laughed it off, completely out of it because of the drugs she had taken that day to forget about her pain. Another time, she had confessed to Tim she was seriously considering leaving the safety of their group and try and live on her own. Tim had never known anything else than this, at least, he didn't remember his life before this, and could not even envisage ever wanting to leave.

Now, though, he had seen how the people at Hilltop live. They had walls to protect them, bullets for guns which the Whisperers ran out of years ago, horses, clothes that smelled sweet, nothing like the ones Tim had been given by his group, food Tim had never tasted before, other children like him that didn't have to worry about anything and spend their days playing in the gardens. And more importantly, while he was spying on Daryl the last couple of months, going home from time to time to keep the others informed, he had learnt something he still hasn't cared to report to Beta; it wasn't just one Community that lived around the area, but multiple ones. An old man at the Hilltop had even mentionned direction signs, that Tim has yet to find, which would be a good way to track down the others.

His parents are looking at him from the campfire a few meters away, probably expecting him to join in and eat with them. But Tim isn't hungry. He spots Doctor Lewis getting out of the woods, followed closely by Thomas, a weird smirk on both of their faces, which creeps the boy out a little.

_"You'll be next when they get bored of me, little Timmy."_

He watches as they part ways, Thomas joining the others by the fire and Lewis go and check out on Paul. He can't help but shiver at the old Doctor touching Paul while he was this vulnerable, but Lewis doesn't do anything more than the usual doctor check up and Tim concludes Paul is definitely not the old man's type.

Tara is looking closely at the map set on Jesus' office table, studying it as best as she can despite her poor orientation and knowledge of maps. She snorts, thinking about Maggie's annoying lessons. Maybe she should have paid more attention to them. She loses her smile when she sees the look of impatience on the faces of the people in the room with her, and quickly circles with a red pen a clearing at the end of the woods she thinks might be the Whisperers' camp. Then, she turns the map around to show it to Enid, Eduardo, Ezekiel, Aaron and Michonne.

Ezekiel and Carol and a group of other people from their home Tara didn't know had arrived very early this morning, having rode all night the minute they got Enid's message, message the girl had had delivered by two residents of Hilltop, without Tara's consent. She had told them about Daryl and Jesus going with Tim and Carol had pressed Tara all day to to send a party, in case they needed back up, and explained that was the reason why they had brought twenty good fighters with them.

Michonne and Siddiq were here at the end of the day. Aaron had either told Michonne everything or Michonne had discovered everything herself, Tara didn't know, but either way, she is here now and after much deliberating, she consented to help, especially when Enid told them Timothy knew about signs Rick had had put in the area. Michonne's priority is her family, and the Whisperers threatened the peace they had all fought so hard for.

Night falls quickly on the camp and everyone gathers to listen Alpha speaks. They are all armed, and masked, Tim included, and ready to do whatever Alpha commands. Beta is at her side, two heads above his leader, who is quite tall herself. Paul is too far to hear what's being discussed, but he doesn't need to hear a word to understand that this is bad. He catches Tim glancing in his direction, his expressions hidden behind that horrible dead face on his head. He thinks back at all the horrors Tim had told him about these people, how they torture and rape people, live like animals and even murdered his own parents. He can't believe a child could have just invented all of this. Or maybe it is his ego talking, and he can't accept the fact that a child fooled him. Paul had let his own experiences and troubled past blind his judgement about the boy and if Daryl or him got killed tonight, or anyone else, it would be on him.

Daryl has not regained consciousness yet, which is getting to Paul more and more. He tightens his grip on Daryl's wrist and concentrates only on the other man's pulse. His muscles start to hurt from being in the same sitting position for hours, but his arm is hurting less, which is a comfort of sort.

It doesn't take the group too long to get to Daryl's makeshift home, with the help of Carol who is the only one among them to have already been here before. They search everywhere for something that could let them know which direction Daryl, Jesus and the kid might have taken from there.

In total, they were thirty-three; the twenty people from the Kingdom, seven from Hilltop (including Giulia and Earl) as well as Enid, who let Dog's well being into Siddiq's hands, and Alden, and finally the Alexandrians, Michonne and Aaron. Some people had been sent to the Oceanside girls, Alexandria and the Kingdom to have them all prepared for an eventual coming fight.

Alden proposes to split when not everyone agreed on the direction to take next, as to cover more space. But Michonne refuses, insisting they must stay together. After ten minutes of debacle, they settle on keeping straight ahead, noticing what could be horse prints along the path they take.

Michonne is watching Enid and Alden holding hands and her heart breaks at the sight. She looks away, tired to feel so bitter whenever she sees the people around her show each other some affection. She resists the urge to punch a tree when she passes one close to her and walks faster, away from the couple. She falls next to Aaron, who seems a bit agitated. She's still angry with him for lying to her so blatantly for years. He has kept touch with the Hilltop, and he never thought about letting her know, despite the rules they set up together, the first one being to tell each other everything. Aaron glances at her, gives her a sad smile which she can't help but relanctly return. Aaron is a good man, and Michonne knows that. He did what he thought he had to do and she can understand that. Or try to, at the very least.

Alpha is watching while the doctor examines Daryl. Paul can't see what the man is doing but he hears him sigh.

"Did the boy say the dose he gave this man ?

\- No." Alpha answers gravely.

"Do you think he is in a sort of coma ? That he overdosed ?" she inquires.

Paul can't help but speak, then. "He can't have overdosed, the drugs aren't in his system anymore. We made sure of that."

Alpha poses in front of him and look at him as if she had forgotten about his presence until now.

"You have a doctor, too ?

\- We have all sorts of people. Too many for you. Way too many." he tries to scare her, with no effect. "But we don't have to fight each other.

\- Don't we ?" she asks in a whisper, getting close to Paul's face. He can smell her foul breath and it makes him sick. "The thing is, your friend here, has come too close to our borders, hunted down our meat, our fish, took _our_ wood for _his_ fire… in short, he owes us. And I decided that today was finally the time to pay the bill."


	14. Pay the price

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry if there are many mistakes, I didn't re-read it after I wrote it but I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway. Good reading !

When Daryl wakes up again, he feels as if he had slept for days. He thinks he hasn't felt so well rested in years, maybe even his whole life. Michonne is there, which should surprise him but doesn't. Aaron is next to her. They look serene, calm, happy. Daryl smiles at them, and both return his smile.

A bit farther away, he can see Enid and Alden kissing, more in love than he's ever seen them. They stop to look at Daryl and give him a smile. He nods at them, his own smile has not left his face.

Daryl spots Tara chatting merrily with a long-haired, blond woman he knows he's seen at the Hilltop once or twice. She laughs loudly at what the other woman says to her and it makes Daryl smiles even brighter.

He looks around and catches sight of Henry, who nods at him as a way to say hello, and Daryl does the same. Then, he sees Ezekiel put an arm around the teenager's shoulders, a proud father looking at his son like the world had not created something greater. Carol is by their sides, she looks at Daryl, smiles warmly at him and sends her a kiss that Daryl pretends to catch, making both of them chuckle.

Somebody puts a hand on Daryl's shoulder, making him turn. He knew who it was before he turned. He's wanted to see him again for so long. For the others, he was same as a brother. But for Daryl, Rick was more than that. He was more, so much more. And yet, despite all this, it's not Rick behind him. It can't be, he's been dead for nine years.

No, the face of the man he sees is one he never thought he would be as happy as he is, in this moment, to see. This is the man that saved his life, that returned to him the will to live, who had stayed for Daryl so many years ago when he was still a captive of the Saviors, of Negan.

"Jesus."

Jesus puts his hands on Daryl's shoulder and looks at him intently.

"Daryl, are you alright ?" he asks. But Daryl sees something is not quite right. Jesus' voice sounds alarmed, but he doesn't look it at all. "Daryl !" he shouts, but his lips are not moving. Daryl doesn't answer, confused by the whole thing, which leads Jesus to shake him up violently. "Daryl !"

"Daryl ?" Jesus is calling him and this time, Daryl sees the agitation in his eyes. He's on his knees, above him, which makes Daryl realises he's laying onto the ground. It's dark and cold, and he feels soft raindrops on his bare arms and face. He sits up abruptly, remembering where he is. He wants to gets on his feet but almost falls. Jesus catches him and help stand.

All around them, he hears shouting and gun shots, smells blood and smoke, sees walkers moving like living ones and fighting them with knives, axes and all sorts of weapons at their disposal. Everything is too confusing for Daryl and his brain has a hard time comprehending what's happening.

Jesus takes him nearer to the woods' entrance, where a girl on horse is waiting for them. She dismounts when she spots them.

"You're sure he'll be able to find the way back ?" the girl asks. Daryl is pretty sure he's never seen her before.

"The most important thing right now he's that he gets as far as possible from here." Jesus responds hastily. "I'll find him when all is over."

Daryl wants to say something but it's like he's watching a film fast forward and isn't quick enough to intervenes and stops the scene before his eyes.

"Watch out !" the girl suddenly shouts at them, pushing Daryl out of her way and aiming straight at a Whisperer's head with her gun, shooting them dead.

"Thanks." is all Jesus says, before he gently presses Daryl towards the horse. "You gotta go. Now."

"Jesus !" Michonne's voice resounds around the clearing. Daryl's heart skips a beat at the anguish he heard in his friend's voice. He borrows the girl's gun, and rushes to where he heard the voice before Jesus or the girl can stop him.

He passes some of his friends and people who seemingly are on their side hold most of the still breathing remaining Whisperers at gun point, shoots one down who tries to attack him, and finally, he catches sight of Michonne. Jesus is at his side in a second, his face and Daryl's falling at the scene before them. Aaron is on the ground, at a big woman's feet, while Michonne is on the ground next to him, sobbing. She's still got her gun in her hand but she won't use it for some reason. Daryl doesn't even try and understand why she won't, though. He watches Aaron, visibly shot in the chest, struggling to breath, coughing a mix of salva and blood onto his chin.

Daryl sees red. He's about to throw himself on the woman when Jesus stops him. He shows him the woman's hands, one gripping Michonne's hair tightly and the other holding a knife at her throat. One small movement and Michonne's throat is cut open.

Her torn mask (from fighting, probably) falls off her face and reveals the woman underneath to Daryl and Jesus. She's a white, bald, middle-aged woman. She's smiling at Jesus, Daryl sees. When she speaks, her voice is low, cold and her tone harsh. "What was it you said ? That we didn't need to fight each other ?"

Daryl glances at Jesus and sees the man boil with frustration and anger. "I didn't know this would happen. I meant what I said. We can still find an arrangement. You don't have to kill her." he is almost pleading now. Most of the others from their group keep watch on the Whisperers, but Alden, Enid, Carol and Ezekiel soon join Daryl and Jesus, all mortified when they see Aaron and the knife on Michonne's throat. Michonne's eyes turn to Aaron and the sight of her friend in this state makes her sob even more. Daryl hears her whisper softly Aaron's name and it breaks his heart, for both of his friends.

"For those who don't know me, I am Alpha. The leader of the Whisperers. This, is our home. Our land. Everything in those woods and in the proximity is ours. This man," she points to Daryl, to his great surprise. "this man, here, invaded a propriety that wasn't his, taking all our food, claiming the woods for himself. What he didn't know, was that all he took was not free of charges. He's one of yours, so you all must pay the price." She looks at everyone in turn, and goes on when she gets no answer. "The price was to be only one life, this one's life to be precise" referring to Daryl, "but the prince got bigger when you massacred half of my group. So, I'll be taking five instead."

Jesus takes a step forward. "I saw you prepare your group for fighting earlier. It was never going to be only one life. What do you think will happen when you kill Michonne ?

\- I get killed, I assume.

\- Look, she's got a family. Two kids. One is only a baby." Alpha's face betrays nothing, she only stares Jesus in the eye. He takes another step, careful. "Take me instead."

Everyone is shocked, Daryl hears Enid gasps. Daryl frowns at Alpha's faint smile.

"Jesus, don't !" Michonne begs, held back by Alpha. She holds back a groan when Alpha tightens her grip on her hair.

"I want five lives. And I will spare this one's. And even allow my doctor to see to your dying friend here." she mentions at Aaron, who is barely even breathing anymore.

"You get one, mine, and we let you and your people go." proposes Jesus.

Daryl quietly reloads his gun, he'll have to be quick, if Alpha agrees to Jesus' deal, she will need to let go of Michonne and Daryl will be able to shoot her before she takes hold on Jesus.

"You really think I'm going to take your word for it ? Do you take me for a fool ?" Alpha spits at Jesus. But she doesn't have time to add another word. A whisperer closes in on her and stabs her in the back. Her scream echoes through the night, a low and terrifying growl like Daryl has never heard before. In the dark, Daryl didn't see the guy coming, nor any of his friends. Or so he thought, until he sees Jesus' smirk right before he rushes to Alpha and shoot her straight in the head before Whisperers' leader has time to react to what just happened. Michonne holds back her arm before she falls, preventing Alpha's hand to cut through Michonne's skin inadvertenly. She shoves the other woman on the side and gets back on her feet promptly. They all stare at Alpha's dead body on the ground, still in shock, then all look up to her murderer.

The mask on his face hides his face but Daryl recognises him immediately. Enid and Alden run to Aaron, and Enid examines the wound. Daryl glances at his back and sees the horrified look on Alpha's people faces. He observes one in particular, a lot bigger than the others, one of the few with still the mask on. He focuses on Aaron again, who, to Daryl's relief, is still conscious.

"Why did you do that ?" inquires Carol. Daryl follows her eyes, she's addressing their "savior".

Timothy removes the dead's face he's wearing and takes a careful step towards them. "I saw how you people live. I want to live this way, too. Not at your place. I want you to spare my parents and me so we can find a place of our own. That's why I did it. That and because of her my friend Lydia died. I wanted to avenge her." He said the last words more to Jesus than the others. "When you all show up, I hid in the woods and wait. When I saw you were winning, I made the decision to kill Alpha. I'm not a good person, I only did it for myself and my family."

Enid, Alden and Ezekiel hastily take Aaron to one of the horses to bring him back home where Enid and Siddiq will be able to take care of the wound more efficiently. Daryl watches them go, then looks back at Tim.

"So, do we have a deal ? Will you let me and my parents go ?"

They all look at each other, considering Tim's request. The boy, then, turns to Jesus once again. "I know I almost got your friends killed. But you owe me. I didn't tell them about the direction signs, or that there were other communities like the Hilltop. I saved you.

\- You caused all of this, you little shit." Daryl spits at the boy's face, despite himself. Carol calms him down by putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Who made the shit you put in my dog and me ?"

Tim gives a look at the big man Daryl had noticed earlier among the other Whisperers. Daryl leaves quickly the group and walks fast towards the guy in question. When he sees Daryl coming to him, the big guy stands on his feet, not paying attention to the armed people shouting at him to stand down.

"Leave him to me !" Daryl barks before they shoot him. "The drugs. You made them ?

\- I did. With some help.

\- Whose help ?"

The big guy stares at him in silence, and Daryl is sure the bastard is smiling under his disgusting mask.

"WHOSE ?" he demands one more time, pointing his gun to the man's head.

"I did it. I made the drugs." It's a blond, a bit older than Daryl that speaks up, standing up, arms in the air. "If there were any danger to you, I can assure you that you wouldn't be able to walk or talk anymore like you are doing right now.

\- I don't care about me. That little shit over there injected some of _your_ shit into my dog's veins and now he won't wake up. I need you to tell me all the stuff you put in it so my people can save him.

\- Oh, God…Okay. I mixed all sorts of stuff that I collected in shops and drusgtore. I mixed some dissolvent with lighters' gasoline, some solvants you can find in glues, and I added some… conterfeit armagnac from some French shop in the city…"

The big guy sighs and sit back down, taking off his mask, looking defeated. The blond man glances at him nervously and looks back at Daryl.

"I don't know what it does to dogs. I didn't even know what it does to humans before I tried it on one." The blond says.

Daryl resists the urge to punch the man in the face when he spots his horse not far from here. He goes to him and is about to mount when he is stopped by his friends.

"We can't let them go." the girl he took the gun from declares to all of them. The people Daryl now recognises to be those from the Kingdom seems to all agree with her.

"We're not killing them." Jesus retorts. "They yielded, Giulia."

Michonne joins in the conversation, the stress for Aaron all gone now that he as been taken care of. "I don't have any bullets left. But if I had, I would have killed every one of these assholes." To Jesus' surprised look, she adds : "Enid told us all about these people. How they rape kids and cut off the dead's faces to put on their heads. We met twisted people like these ones before we found Alexandria. Trust me, they need to be put down.

\- This is not what I do, Michonne." Jesus tells her. "It's not what you do, either. Tim saved your life.

\- Daryl's right," Giulia butts in. "the boy led them here. This is all his fault.

\- No, it isn't." Jesus whispers. "It's me. It's my fault. I brought him into our home, I did this."

Daryl glances at the boy, who slowly made his way to his parents. The three of them are holding each other, anxious as to what is going to happen to them. Daryl only looks at Tim. In the arms of his parents, it makes the reality of this boy _being_ just a boy hits him in the face. He still hates him with all his guts but his rage has gone.

"Jesus," Daryl calls, and continues when the other man turns to face him. "they'd have find the Hilltop, anyway. You heard the kid, he helped us only because he went to Hilltop and saw the way the people there lived. If you hadn't brought him with you, Alpha'd have killed Michonne and Aaron wouldn't've made it, probably."

Daryl sees the look of his friends change after he said that. Jesus seems touched beyond words and doesn't have anything to say to that. Daryl decides it's time for him to go. He trusts his friends to make the right choice and rides his horse to the Hilltop, to his dog.


	15. The masks fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Paul, Michonne, Carol and everyone else to decide what they should do about the Whisperers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 15 ! Good reading.

Once again, Paul is facing a crowd that awaits his decision about the Whisperers' fate. Tim hasn't lied about everything, it is clear. What if he didn't lie about what those people did to that girl, Lydia ? He mentioned how it was their leader, Alpha, who was responsible for her death, but how exactly ? Is she responsible because she allowed some men to physically abuse this poor girl, that resulted in her death ? When he looks at Tim now, he has the same feeling he had previously. He does not see a monster, an innocent boy or a boy at all, but a ghost. As if what he did didn't really matter, in the end. They would have ended up right here, anyway. The Whisperers sent him like they could have sent someone else. Tim is just a pawn in the schemes of all things. It's still pouring, and night has fallen. The woods and everyone are silent. All that can be heard is the soft rain.

Daryl has been gone for five minutes, and Giulia is getting impatient, breaking the peaceful moment after the storm.

"I don't get it. You let the kid go and he led you and Daryl here to be killed by this Alpha woman, and you're still hesitating about what should be done ?"

Giulia's words get on Paul's nerves. He wants to shout his answer back at her but takes a deep breath instead and calmly responds.

"Look at them, Giulia. Really, look. Look into their eyes, point a gun to their faces and executes them yourself if that's what you want to do. Come on." He sees the girl changing her attitude a bit. "Yeah, that's what I thought. It's easy when you don't have to do it, isn't it ? It's easy to tell me what to do, but would you do half of the things you think I should do if you were in place ? Answer honestly."

Michonne puts her empty gun back in her pocket and doesn't let Giulia answer.

"I almost killed my friend today, Jesus. I aimed for one of them but I ended up shooting Aaron in the chest instead.

\- Maybe you shouldn't have shot them in the first place, Michonne. You had guns, you could have just taken them all hostage until we figure out what to do with them." Paul says that without hiding his contempt. Though, he regrets the tone when he really takes in what Michonne said to him. She was the one that shot Aaron.

Michonne frowns her brow and takes a step closer to Jesus, visibly vexed. "They murder people and rape children. We were scared, we didn't know what to expect. We didn't even know none of them had guns." She marks a stop to compose herself and continues. "And what do you think we came for ? We came here for Daryl and you."

She's got tears in her eyes and Paul knows it's got nothing to do with the Whisperers. His words affected her, he can see. And she is desperately trying to find an excuse for what had happened to Aaron. She feels guilty, and probably would do anything for it not to be her doing. But is is, and Paul thinks she needs to accept that she made a mistake, and that it is okay. It's okay because Aaron is going to make it, Paul is sure of it. After all, thanks to Daryl's words, he himself came to accept his own mistakes, mistakes that almost led to Daryl being executed. Nobody is perfect and there is no manual to tell them what is right or wrong to do. But Paul truly believes all they did was always with the best interests at heart. Paul didn't have the heart to tell no to a kid who needed his help, and Michonne is here because if she didn't intervened these people would have found her camp and with that her family, her children, and her people.

He tells her all this, trying to sound as kind as he can as to not upset her more, and it works. The mask falls and with it, any pretence. She glances at everyone, and set her eyes on the Kingdom people, who didn't hesitate one second to follow Ezekiel and Carol to this strange place. She wipes away some tears and speaks again.

"Before we take any decision, I think we need to hear what these people have to say for themselves." Paul smiles at those words. Michonne was a laywer in her old life and she sounds just like one in this moment.

The Whisperers are asked to stand. Earl informs Paul ten of them have not survived their wounds, not including Alpha. So, eleven of the Whisperers are dead, which leaves the little group at thirty seven people. Paul feels bad, he didn't want it to come to this, he didn't want anyone to die. Then, he thinks of the potential rapists that may still be among the survivors as well as Daryl's almost execution and he doesn't feel so bad anymore.

It turns out most of the Whisperers are okay, or seem okay. They tell their story, each in turn and some are heartbreaking stories. Paul realises how many of them have allied to Alpha by desperation, because they didn't want to be alone. But Paul doesn't know them enough to tell if they're trustworthy or not and kindly refuse when some of them ask to join their Community. He instead consents to help them find a new place of their own, as Tim had suggested when it was his turn to speak. His parents insisted that they didn't need anyone's help but soon gave up to their son's strong obstinacy. Tim assured them they could trust Paul, which Paul appreciated. Daryl was right, his actions did pay well in the end. Carol smiled at him, then. As if she had the same thought.

Then, it's a man named Thomas' turn to speak and Michonne and Paul notice Tim's face change when the man approaches them. The boy looks terrfied of him, which is not a good sign. Michonne gives Paul a discreet side look, which confirms Paul that they are thinking the same thing.

"My wife died a few years ago, then my daughter died, too, so I was alone for a long time. Then, I found Alpha-

\- He's lying !" Tim suddenly shouts, cutting the man off. All the Whisperers look at each other, visibly uneasy, and one turns Tim violently to him, before his parents could stop him. 

"You shut your mouth, you little liar !" Paul recognises him to be the doctor that made the drugs and took care of his wounded arm. He said he was a real doctor and that his name is Xavier Lewis. He was one of those who asked to join the Hilltop, praising his medical skills as to prove he would be useful to them.

"I'm not a liar !" Tim yells at the Lewis face, despite his very visible fear of him.

Tim's parents push the doctor away from their son. "Stop talking now, Timothy." Paul hears the dad tell his son.

Giulia goes closer to Thomas unnoticed, taking Earl's gun the same way Daryl had taken hers earlier and points it to Thomas' head. Beta comes in between, his imposing stature not impressing the young woman in the least.

"Why did the kid say he lied ? What is he hiding ? He's one of the rapists ?" She asks urgently. "He killed his wife and daughter ? What happened ?"

Beta is looking at her the way a wolf would look at a pray. If it wasn't for the gun, Giulia would be dead by now.

"These are my people now. I am Alpha and you do not get to threaten them. You are not the leader of your group, you are nothing. So, back off."

The silence that follows is tense, and for a second Paul thinks Giulia is going to put her gun away but she does not.

"Now you listen to me, you ugly son of a-"

It happens so fast nobody has time to register what is going on before Giulia is on the ground and Beta is trying to take the gun from her hand. Then, Paul hears a shot and screams and confusion among the Whisperers and his friends.

When he looks at the scene, though, Giulia is still holding the gun and Beta, or Alpha now, is checking for any wound on his body and finds none. Giulia had shot in the air to scare him away from her, which worked. She gets up promptly and although she is trembling from head to toe, she faces Alpha again, the gun still pointed to the man's head.

Tim gets away from his parents' arms and runs towards Paul.

"You have to kill him !" The boy is urging Paul. "He gave me the drugs. Told me Alpha wanted me to use it on your friend but you heard her, she didn't know about it. Thomas and Lewis did know, though. Beta told me they wanted to test it on Daryl, to see how a too big of a dose would affect a man grown. They had tried it on Lydia, once, to make her more… docile when they'd… you know. She got addicted to it and she killed herself not long after that. I think the drugs messed with her brain, I think Lewis wanted to see if they would do the same to someone else. Lydia wanted to leave this place, not die in it. Don't listen to Thomas. It was his idea. And he never had a wife and a daughter."

Alpha makes to stop the boy from saying another word but Giulia shoots his leg. The Whisperers all put their hands in the air, afraid she might shoot again, all but Tim and Thomas. Paul looks at Giulia who only shrugs, as if it was no big deal. Beta-now-Alpha is on the ground, trying not to scream at the pain, probably cursing Giulia in his head, and Tim.

Then, a shaken Doctor Lewis steps in, carefully putting his arms down.

"I admit it, I created the drugs and used it on that poor girl but I would never have done it for the reasons Timothy gave you. She begged me to give her some." He is addressing Carol more than the others, as if she could be the easiest to manipulate. "I tried to stop Thomas, but Alpha said he could do whatever he wanted with her and he did…"

Thomas has not spoken a word since Tim had cut him off. But he speaks now, shocked at his friend's betrayal. "Don't listen to him ! He raped that girl, too. And he did it many times. Way more than me. More than I can even count ! He was even planning on raping the boy after Lydia killed herself. Said he was old enough now."

Tim looks appalled, and so do his parents. Paul can't hear any more of this, and judging by his friends' disgusted faces, they can't, either.

"You," Paul addresses the crowd. "You let them do that to that girl. Why ?

\- We were scared !" an old man complains. "Alpha would have had sent Beta to kill us."

Paul doesn't believe all of them were scared. Some must have not cared enough, or were happy it wasn't them to bring themselves to oppose their leader, but he doesn't tell the old man that. A man from the Kingdom steps in when he sees Paul say nothing.

"I say we kill the rapists." He simply states.

"Will." Ezekiel warns, looking at him intently.

"We could bring them back with us," Carol proposes. "We have bigger cells than those you have at the Hilltop. I will take care of them, make sure they never get out or hurt anyone again."

Paul nods, thoughtful. This could be a good idea. No one is contradicting her, at least, not even Ezekiel. He looks at her with an odd expression, and that makes Paul uneasy for a moment. It is as if Carol has spoken in a code only he had understood.

But the thought leaves his mind when the people of Kingdom start tying the Whisperers' wrists together, to do as their Queen said and prepare to leave for the Kingdom with Beta-now-Alpha, Lewis and Thomas, who reluctantly let them do it. The bigger man had to be helped stand because of his leg, causing him to groan in pain when both feet touch the ground. They decide to make him sit on a horse, while the other two are forced to follow behind on foot. Paul looks at Doctor Lewis for a couple more seconds. This man had treated his wound and seemed quite nice to him only a few hours ago and now he is the most repulsive person Paul knows.

Carol hugs Michonne tightly, forgetting the grief between their communities for the time being. They had face death tonight, after all.

She smiles sweetly at Paul, then takes Ezekiel's hand and both leave with their people.

Paul can't help but thinking the three prisoners might not survive the trip, somehow.

Earl is looking at him, expecting. Paul nods at him, understanding his friend's silent requisition. It is time for them to go home.

"I said I will help you find somewhere safe to live. I scouted a lot around the area and there are inhabited houses that I think could be appropriate for you all. But first, I need to get back home, and report to my leader what happened here tonight. I'll come back in a week, with some food and clean water. As well as some clothes, if I can find any that nobody wears. And then, I'll take you to your new home. But I want you to know that, if any of you were to come back here, we will be forced to use violence or take you prisoner for as long as Tara, our leader, would have decided."

Most of them seem pretty content with the terms, expect those who had wanted to join the Community. But all agree. Tim gives him a faint smile that says more than words could, and Paul forces himself to smile back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bye bye the Whisperers. Hope you enjoyed this chapter !


	16. OK

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good reading !

Michonne doesn't have to add anything else, Jesus had said it all, and Carol had taken the big man and the two rapists with her, Jesus would escort the rest of the Whisperers somewhere far away from their homes. They'll have to double the people on guard duty, night and day, for some time but it was worth it. Michonne knows Rick would have appreciated Jesus convincing all of them not to kill all these people.

On her way back to the Kingdom, Carol, Ezekiel and their little group come accross Enid and Alden. Alden is on the horse behind Aaron, holding him tight by the waist to keep him from falling. Enid is on foot, she is leading the horse and the two men ahead. Ezekiel decides to take three of his people with him to help Enid and Alden take Aaron back home safely.

"What happened after we left ?" Enid asks, agitated. "You're going home, does that mean everything's fine back there ?"

"15 of them are dead and the rest yielded." Ezekiel lies to her, before Carol could speak and tell her the horrible truth of what they had done to the three men they had promised to take care of. They look into each other's eyes, silently agreeing to keep this secret to themselves before Ezekiel continues. "Jesus is taking care of the rest, he's got it under control."

This seems to lift a weight off Enid's tired shoulders. She takes the horse's reins, nods to Carol and keeps going, accompanied by Ezekiel and the others. Carol and the rest of the group go on their own way, to the Kingdom, to their home.

When Paul had told Tara, the official new leader of Hilltop, everything that had happened, she had been torn between hugging him and killing him. Instead, she only praised Enid to have warned the others about the Whisperers. All Hilltop knew what happened when Jesus got out of Tara's office, thanks to Giulia and Earl. Eduardo hesitantly took Jesus in his arms and pated his back gently.

After he has been greeted by everyone, repeated the same story of that dreadful evening a hundred times over, Paul decides to check in on Daryl. When he enters the medical room, he's pleased to find Aaron there, as well as Daryl and Dog. It's only after a moment that he notices Alden in the corner, keeping a close eye on Aaron, only briefly looking up at Paul when the two men acknowledge each other's presence. Daryl is petting his dog affectionately while Siddiq is taking care of Aaron. Siddiq smiles at him, and Paul smiles back. Then, he notices Daryl staring at him with an expressionless face. Paul doesn't know what to say or do. He feels his presence unwanted in the room in this moment. He gently strokes Dog, who seems to breathe more easily now, which makes Paul happy for his friend. He wants Daryl to reach out to him, to say something, to tell him he's as glad to see him as he is to see _him_. But Daryl only stares at him, through him, as if it was really the wall behind Paul's back he is staring at, as if he isn't really here or that Daryl can't see him.

He leaves the room as quickly as he can without running, and heads to his bedroom. He grabs an empty garbage bag and put all of his clothes and washing and grooming things in it. This room belongs to Tara now. Before stepping outside, he notices one of his bath towel on the bed, visibly having being used and cold at the touch. Then, he remembers Daryl had used it when he showered and must have left it here after Paul's intrusion. He blushes a little at the memory, and try not to think about how hard it was not to stare at Daryl's thick, wet body when he came into the room unannounced. It had truly been an embarrassing moment for Paul. He never gets so easily flustered, usually, but Daryl has a way of making Paul feel things he has never felt before. He thinks of those moments in the woods they have spent together, alone and far away from everything and everyone and he feels his guts tighten. He picks up the towel and put it in the bag with the rest. Lost in thought, he jumps at the sudden knock on the door.

Aaron's now calm breathing matches Dog's own breathing and somehow it manages to soothe Daryl into an appeased state.

Siddiq had assured Daryl, and Enid before she went to bed, in need of a good deserved rest, that Enid had done everything the way he would have done and that Dog's vitals were correct and that he will get better. He only needed more time than Daryl to get all his abilities back like running or eating and drinking without the gastric tube.

When Daryl told him what Timothy had injected in Dog, Siddiq made a face, but confirmed Daryl's little companion will be fine, the stuff having being out of his system before it could do too much damage. He still warned Daryl that he had to be very patient and that a comlete recovery will take time, for both of them. As a matter of fact, Daryl may have occasional sleepwalking episodes, as well as sudden fatigue during the day at random moments, no matter how long he slept the previous night. Daryl had already had one sleepwalking episode. He was in the woods with Jesus and Tim when it happened, on their way to the Whisperers' camp, he was supposed to wake Jesus up but he had inadvertently fallen asleep. Hours later, he had found himself outside the camp, on his feet and walking. He hadn't realised it was sleepwalking right away, and had to pretend to Jesus that he was fine, and convinced himself he would be good, that he never suffered from a lack of sleep before and so would not suffer from it now.

Alden decides to stay by Aaron's side. He is planning to write to Michonne tomorrow morning and let her know of Aaron's state, and thank Ezekiel for his great help before the King leaves for his Kingdom and to his Queen.

The room is quiet, and now that all his worries about Dog and Aaron has wore off, Daryl finds himself thinking of Jesus when the latter comes in. Daryl is too surprised to see him appear so suddenly he doesn't think to greet him. Jesus awkwardly gets closer to him, and pats Dog on the head. Daryl is expecting the guy to speak but he doesn't say a word. It doesn't matter to Daryl, not really, he's just glad he made it back okay, though can't bring himself to say it out loud. The silence is uncomfortable, though, nothing like the one they share in the woods usually. The atmosphere is heavy and Jesus seems to feel it, too, for he leaves the room quickly without a word. Daryl glances in Siddiq's direction, and he catches the man staring, a confused look on his face. When both men turn to Alden, Siddiq giggles and Daryl has a faint smile on his face. Alden has sat down on the floor and fallen asleep.

"What's going on between you and Paul ?" Siddiq asks suddenly, becoming serious again. Daryl doesn't think he ever heard the man call Jesus by his nickname.

"Nothing," Daryl says while shrugging, trying not to look too nervous, taken aback by the question.

"You know," Siddiq tries again after a while, "In a week, I'll have to get back to Alexandria, when I think Aaron will be able to travel again, and when I talked to Alden and Enid about my considering asking you to come with me, well… I mean, I know there's Negan, but I know Michonne and Judith really miss you."

At the mention of Judith, he feels sadder than he ever felt in a long time. He wants to see her again, hold her in his arms and hear her laugh. But he fears to look at the girl and see Rick. The girl is not his, but she resembles him in so many other ways other than in looks and Daryl can't bear it. Meeting RJ would be even worse. It just doesn't seem fair to meet Rick's kid when Rick himself never will. Then, he thinks back to that horrific day he almost took his own life, not able to bear the pain any longer, and how Jesus had come and saved his life, without even knowing it.

"Anyway," he starts again, "they seemed to imply you might not accept my proposal because of Paul."

Daryl's heart starts beating fast against his chest, too fast. Why would Enid and Alden say that ?

"I'll come with you. But I ain't staying. I want to see the kids, take Aaron back home safely, then I'm gone." He states, not answering Siddiq's burning questions about Jesus.

After his conversation with the doctor, Daryl leaves him with Dog, sleepy Alden and Aaron and heads to Jesus' room. He knocks twice on the door and takes a step back, waiting for an answer. Jesus opens it after a few seconds, his eyes widening when he sees Daryl. He spots Jesus' bag and points at it while he says : "Going somewhere."

Jesus' lips draw a faint smile, then he shakes his head. "Not really. I'm just moving back to my old trailer.

\- Well, I'm going." Daryl announces. Jesus' face falls at that. "Thought I'd let you know. 

\- Now ?" Jesus asks, astounded. "The sun hasn't even risen yet.

\- Imma keep an eye out for Tim and his group. Just in case. Then, in a week or so I'll go with Siddiq to Alexandria, make sure Aaron makes it there in one piece. Maybe see the kids…"

Jesus smiles when he mentions the kids.

"Sure." He only answers. Then, "You know,I could use the fresh air. I feel like suffocating in here." There is a sort of despair in his laugh, which takes Daryl aback.

"You just got back.

\- On guard duty, it's two people minimum. Or else, when are you going to sleep ?"

Both men chuckle at Jesus' remark. Then, Daryl bites his lip, thinking about his answer. After a moment, he finally nods.

"OK."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)


	17. Daryl and Paul's Escapade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Paul have some alone time together. Masks fall, and truth finally comes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last chapter and that's why it's much longer than the other chapters.  
> I really hope you enjoy it, and thank you to those who took the time to leave comments and kudos, know that it is highly appreciated and has been encouraging for me to finish this story.  
> I'm not fluent in English and I think it shows at times. I'm hoping this final chapter will satisfy those who followed the whole thing until the end.
> 
> Good reading ! X

They had changed plans last minute and decided to leave in the morning. Paul had taken care of the provisions, mostly protein bars, water and homecooked rice cakes that he had spent the rest of the previous night baking. Although he is a terrible cook, Paul doubted Daryl would really care about the taste.

He also took care of the provisions and clothes he had promised the Whisperers. Paul planned to give it to them at the end of the week, once he's sure he can trust them, and then, he'll take them to the empty hotel he had found a while ago, about two days away from the Hilltop on horse. He had cleared the place and took all he could carry, with Eduardo's help. It wasn't much, but they did have kidnapped him and Daryl, and Paul thought it was kind of him to even help them after that.

He only waited until six in the morning to wake Tara up and tell her of he and Daryl's plans. Tara informed him she had already planned to send people out to watch over the Whisperers, and it involved more than two people. But Paul was a pain the ass when he decided to be stubborn, and it was too early in the morning for Tara to fight, so she allowed him and Daryl to go, on one condition; she will send Kal, Giulia and Alden to check on them in turn every two days and to report to her of the Whisperers' movements. Paul judged it fair enough. He agreed to the condition, even if Tara was not asking his permission and was still going to do it, anyway.

Daryl and Paul are watching intently what seems to be an argument involving three Whisperers from their hiding spot, far enough not to be seen but close enough to hear them talking, or in this case, yelling. The older man is complaining about the new rules they had apparently set after their departure. Tim's father, who up until now has been one of the most discreet member of this group, steps in and talks in such a commanding voice it leaves Paul baffled.

"We are not asking for your permission. The rules are the rules.

\- But the faces kept us safe for years !" The old man retorts, his voice louder. "This Jesus guy never said we had to give up on them !

\- This is disgusting, Harry." Tim's mother says calmly, after a short moment of silence. "And disrespecful for our dead." Paul realises they are debatating about whether they should cut off their fallen companions' faces or not, to put them on their own. It makes him sick to his stomach. He could never wear the face of one of his dead friends.

Daryl sighs heavily next to him, Paul knows his knee is hurting from staying in the same sitting position for too long. He finds the other man quite pale, as well. He doubts the conversation they are listening to is what is making him feel so miserable. Daryl had told Paul that there would still be effects of the drugs for a while, that it would take him some time to recover completely. Paul hates that he can't do anything to help him feel better.

"It didn't bother you to wear strangers' faces, though." The man says softly, walking away.

Paul catches Daryl watching Tim. He is holding his knife tightly in his hands the same way he had when they first met him, on guard, ready to attack the old man in case the latter tried to hurt his mum and dad. When the old man has gone, Daryl and Paul watches him put his knife back in its sheath.

They head back to the camp before nightfall. The wind is blowing hard and black clouds are covering the sky, keeping Daryl and Paul from enjoying the last sunlights. While Paul is putting up the walker's traps around the camp (a long cord and empty cans attached to them), Daryl is about to try and start a fire when both men hear the sound of an approaching rain storm. Soon, they feel a few raindrops rolling down their faces. Daryl had made a wooded rooftop for heavy rains and, with Paul's help, they set it up above the tent. That takes them a while, and by the time they are done, it's raining hard.

Daryl grabs the provivision's bag and enters the tent hastily, followed closely by Paul. It's dark in here, but not as dark as not being able to see each other. They look and smell like wet dogs, their hair is a mess and they're cold. Despite their state, they're so tired they both start to giggle uncontrollably at the situation.

Paul falls flat on his back onto the cold ground, his jaws hurting from smiling so hard but so happy to be back here with Daryl that he ignores the cramps and keeps grinning like an idiot, closing his eyes, savouring this moment of pure joy and carelessness. After a moment, the tent is quiet, and Paul relaxes completely. He sighs and opens his eyes quickly before he falls asleep, and catches Daryl staring at him. The older man averts his eyes, looking slightly embarrassed and proceeds to get up and take a look outside. Paul pulls himself up back to a sitting position when the wind penetrates the tent, putting his legs up against his chest to shield himself from the cold that feels like it's cutting through his coat and into his bones. "I'm taking the first watch." Daryl is saying, breaking the comfortable silence. He turns his gaze on Paul and notices the man is freezing. He shuts the tent's entrance again.

"Sorry.

\- No, it's okay."

Not knowing what to do with himself, as it's often the case when Jesus is looking at him for too long, Daryl finally sits back on the ground. He's feeling tired suddenly, and he doesn't know if it's the drug's effets on his body or just that he is exhausted from lack of sleep, Jesus and he both not having slept properly the last few days.

Why did he say he would take the first watch ?

He needs to rest. He exhales loudly, frustated with himself for being so nervous around the other man in this instant. Both are trapped inside of a small tent where Daryl can't hide anything from him. He feels observed, but when he glances at Jesus, he sees the man is on his back again, his eyes shut. He's breathing in a way that tells Daryl he has fallen asleep, which makes Daryl's heart rate slows a little. He relaxes and just look at Jesus for a while, at his long hair still wet from the rain, at his gloved hands resting on his stomach, back at his face and at his shut eyelids behind which are hiding his light blue eyes Daryl loves looking into so much.

When his eyes settle on Jesus' lips, Daryl feels his heart pounding hard in his chest again. Afraid of the sensations his body is experiencing right now, he quickly looks away from the younger man and settle on his own hands instead. He decides he's going to stare at his hands until it's time to wake Jesus up.

A few moments later, Daryl is tempted to wake him up now. He is so tired he doesn't know if he can stay awake much longer. Jesus moves in his sleep, and Daryl looks up. He moves onto his left side, and exhales softly through his nose. It's so dark now Daryl can't see the man as clearly as he could earlier and can't tell if his eyes are open or closed. He thinks he sees him stretch his right arm, the one that's been shot by Timothy, and suspects it must still be hurting from time to time. Apparently it has been just a scratch, the shot not touching more than skin. Still, it must have hurt all the same.

The storm is slowly subsiding. Daryl takes a quick glance outside of the tent and for a short moment, he sees Dog. He put the hood of his jacket on his head, hood that Carol had sewn to the cloth for him a few years ago, and leaves the tent hurriedly. Once outside, he ignores the cold and starts running towards the spot where he has seen Dog. He looks everywhere, but he can see nothing but trees.

He is about to head back to the tent when his head starts hurting so bad he has to lay down on the mud. He's having a hard time to breathe and feels like he's going to throw up. He's so angry with himself for leaving the tent in this instant he would punch his own face with his fist if he could.

He's freezing cold, the raindropes feel like knives cutting through his face and bare hands, and he feels like he's going to die out here. Then, something hit him hard in the face causing him to groan in pain. He holds onto his hurting nose, and has to bite his lip. It hit him again, and this time, it draws blood. Another hit, then another, and another, and it goes on like this for five solid minutes. Daryl can't see what's hitting him and he can't stop it, either. The pain is driving him so mad he wants to scream.

Paul's eyes snap open at the scream. He streightens quickly, almost losing his balance, and runs out of the tent. The wind hits him in full force, the rain licking his face and blinding his vision for a moment. He looks all around him for a sign of Daryl, breathing hard and shaking violently from both the cold air and fear.

"DARYL !" He yells at the top of his lungs, hurting his throat in the process. He thinks he hears a sort of bumping sound on his right and runs towards the noise, more worried than he ever been in his entire life. He comes at the stop when he sees the shape of a man a few meters away from him. Gun in hand, he carefully gets closer to the man in front of him. Paul is confused for a second, the man is repeatedly hitting his face against the tree, as if trying to walk through it. Paul can't see his face because of the hood on his head but recognises Daryl's coat. Paul hastily stops him from hurting himself further. When he turns him around, Daryl's eyes are closed, his face screwed up in pain and his nose bloody.

"Hey, Daryl..." He calls softly. "Let's go back inside, OK ?" Suddenly startled at what he has just done, Paul stops talking. He has read somewhere that you should never wake up a sleepwalker and he has tried to do just that. Thankfully, Daryl doesn't wake up and his face even relaxed at Paul's voice.

Paul carefully leads Daryl back to the tent. Once inside, he helps him lay down without waking him. Paul stares at the blood on Daryl's face, at his pained expression, and he feels bad. Daryl had not recovered yet, he should be resting in a bed, at home, not out here in the cold. Paul had not even tried to dissuade him of leaving the Hilltop, he had ignored his head and listened only to his wanting to be with Daryl alone in the woods again. He had been so selfish it makes him mad. Paul sits by Daryl's side, sighing heavily, tired. He puts his head into his hands and tries to think of what to do.

Daryl's slow breathing is making him sleepy and it's becoming hard for Paul to stay awake. He looks up and at Daryl and he spots the tears falling from the man's eyes. He reaches out to Daryl, gently shaking him.

"Daryl, you're okay ?"

Daryl slowly opens his eyes, confused for a minute. He lifts up his upper body and looks at Paul. "Just a bad dream." he mumbles while he wipes away the tears, looking away in shame.

"You hurt yourself." Paul tells him, pointing to his face.

When Daryl touches his face he winces at the pain on his nose. Paul leans towards the bag they brought with them and search it. He finds a crinkled tissue paper that he moistens with some water. After he has taken his gloves off his hands, Paul sits accross Daryl and leans closer to gently tap the tissue on Daryl's face. Daryl jumps at the sudden proximity.

"Sorry, I just meant to wipe the blood off your face." Paul says hesitantly.

Daryl's rough fingers skim over Paul's and take the tissue from his hands, looking him intently all the while. The tension between them is unsetlling Paul greatly. He's afraid Daryl might notice it and sits a bit farther away from him, giving the other man a kind smile as to not make it too awkward.

Daryl wipes off the blood and looks down at the blooded tissue for a few minutes, lost in thought. Paul is looking down at his crossed legs when Daryl speaks again, making him look up.

"I saw him. In my dream, he was there." Daryl says softly. The soft tone, almost embarrassed, leads Paul to think the "him" must be referring to Rick.

"It was only for a second, then he disappeared. So, I went looking for him." Daryl makes a brief pause. "I miss him."

Paul wants to reach out to him and comfort him, but he's afraid of how Daryl might react. The only man Paul has ever witnessed Daryl being affectionate to was Rick. Paul has known Daryl for a long time, but they've never been half as close as the older man had been to Rick. It saddens him a little, more than he would like to admit. Paul has always resented jealousy in any shape or form, often ending relationships for that reason alone, but he could be jealous, too. It happens when he really cares about the person. He really hates being jealous because it makes him feels like a hyprocrite.

Daryl speaks again after a while, making Paul comes back to reality.

"But he's gonna be okay, that's all matters.

\- What ?" asks Paul, suddenly very confused.

"Siddid said it'll just take longer for him to heal but that Enid took that drug shit outta him in good time." Daryl explains.

It takes Paul a couple seconds to understand. Daryl stares at him with a puzzled expression on his tired face.

"I'm glad to hear that." Paul says with a smile, genuinely happy for Dog, and part of him feel relieved that Daryl was not talking about Rick. Immediately after, his head battles his heart to make him feel bad for having such thoughts. Rick was Daryl's friend, and Daryl really suffered from his loss, after all.

Daryl's heavy heart lightens at the sight of Jesus' soft smile. He clutches the tissue in his hands, trying to repress all the things Jesus is making him feel. He had tried hard to ignore those pretty much since the first time Daryl ever laid eyes on the guy, with success for quite a long time. It grew harder and harder to do that ever since that day Jesus found his camp for the first time, unknowingly stopping Daryl from taking his life. His buried feelings for the younger man resurfaced then, stronger and more powerful than ever. Jesus helped keep his demons at bay, he soothes him like no one else can. His presence makes him feel nervous, yet happy at the same time, always have. Even more so now.

Paul's smile fades when he sees Daryl's troubled expression.

"Are you alright ?"

Daryl hesitates before answering. "You remember," he begins, "when you went looking for me after I stopped coming to the Hilltop ?"

Paul is confused by Daryl's sudden change of subject, but he does remember that day very vividly. He had spent hours and hours in the woods, worried sick about Daryl, fearing the worst like pretty much everyone at the Hilltop. He nods positively.

"That day, I..." Daryl looks down at his hands and at the bloody tissue. "I didn't tell no one... but I was going to..."

Daryl leaves the sentence in the air, but Paul doesn't need to hear more to understand what Daryl is trying to tell him.

"I had no idea." Paul only says, seized by emotions.

Daryl glances at Paul, visibly embarrassed. Both men stay silent for a moment, then Daryl proceeds to lay down on his side, turning his back on Paul.

"It's your turn." He says a bit sharply.

Paul doesn't mind, he knows it's not personal. Daryl has just opened up to him, which is a big thing for him, and he probably simply feels very vulnerable at the moment. Paul takes a protein bar from the bag, quietly as to not disturb him and prepares himself for the remaining hours of watch duty.

Different kind of emotions try to mess with his head and Paul knows it's going to be long hours until day breaks.

***

The first lights cut through the holes into the tent, and dance on Daryl's sleeping form. Paul watches as Daryl's chest goes up and down at his breathing's pace, the other man having changed position while sleeping. Daryl had kept his jacket all night and is sweating from the morning heat. Paul had taken his off when it stopped being so cold a few hours ago. He puts it back on his shoulders and leaves the tent. Outside, he kneels by the river and washes his face and hands, sighing in appreciation. He's contemplating having a bath in the water while Daryl is asleep when he hears an approaching horse.

His fingers brush his gun, then his face lightens when he sees Kal dismounts and ties the horse to a tree. Paul lets his hand fall on his side, glad to see his friend. Kal smiles when he catches sight of him. After jumping over the walker's traps, that held on despite the storm, Kal joins his friend inside the camp.

Both men fall into each other's arms and Kal pats Paul's back affectionately before they let go of each other.

"You look like shit, man." Kal declares after looking his friend over. "Your hair's a total mess."

Paul chuckles softly and invites Kal to sit on Daryl's makeshift chairs.

"Have you seen your face in a mirror ?" Paul bounces back playfully.

Kal informs him everything is fine back home, and that Siddiq is taking good care of the dog. Kal adds he even heard Alden told Enid Dog had finally opened his eyes last night, though very briefly. But it is a big improvement and Paul knows the news will cheer Daryl up. He thoughtfully glances at the tent, wondering if he is still asleep when Kal speaks up again.

"Tara sent me." Kal explains, not knowing Paul already knew this. "Everything alright with the boy and his group ?

\- We watched them all day yesterday and apart from one little argument, they seem decided to respect the deal and not get close to our communities. I'm going to go back there in a couple of hours, see if anything's changed, keep a close eye on them."

Paul didn't decide to go on his own until he had told Kal so. Maybe Kal can even take Daryl back home with him. It seems like the most sensible thing to do.

Or maybe Paul is freaking out about his feelings for Daryl and is only looking for a way out of this, Paul can't quite decide.

"You're going back there alone, then ? You're sure about this, Jesus ?"

 _No_.

"Yeah," he answers, "Daryl's not recovered, he hurt himself last night while on watch duty." When Kal doesn't seem convinced, he adds : "I've always been better on my own, anyway. You know me."

_Get used to be mistrusted by people. You're on your own now, Paul. You'll always be on your own, trust me._

The boy at the group home had told his thirteen-year-old self these things many times. And Paul had tried to keep this way of thinking for years. But now he's not sure that's what he wants anymore. Though Daryl could really use the time off.

Kal's eyes move from his face to the ground. Kal, unlike Daryl, talks a lot. So, after he's been keeping quiet for over a minute, Paul gets worried.

"Kal, what is it ?" He ends up asking his friend.

Kal shakes his head, fake a laugh, but soon becomes serious again and looks Paul straight in the eye, seemingly resolute to say what he's clearly wanted to say since the moment he set foot on Daryl's camp.

"OK. People talk, Jesus." He finally spits out. "People will always talk, Kal." Paul shrugs. He doesn't pay attention to gossiping and is quite surprised Kal does. "That's what they do.

\- They elected you as the leader of Hilltop. They put their trust in you. And then, you decided to put Tara in your stead and just... took off."

When Kal sees Paul expression change at the mention of Tara, he hastens to say : "She's a good leader, and a trustworthy person. But she's not the leader we chose.

\- It's "we" now, then ?" Paul observes, not unkindly. He knows he hasn't handled the whole leader thing like he should have and understand how it may have upset some people, including Kal.

"When Maggie left us, it wasn't hard just for you." Kal tells him. "We counted on her and she abandoned us. Then, you did the exact same thing.

\- I felt trapped, Kal." Paul tries desperately to explain. "I didn't know what else to do. You wanted me to lead you, make choices that could potentially impact the whole community, when I don't even know what the hell I want for myself. Why do you think I always run away ?"

When he realises he had spoken louder than he had intended, Paul looks behind him to see if he has waken Daryl up. When he doesn't hear anything, he goes on, more quietly. "Tara's been of great help for me. Leading this community, it was all her. I've barely done anything.

\- So, you're just going to stay and hide in the woods with Daryl for the rest of your life, coming back only for food or whatever else you may need, is that it ?"

Kal's words hurt Paul more than he lets on. But he doesn't want to fight, and so tries to keep a calm voice.

"The thing is, I don't feel like I have to hide here." Paul tells his friend.

Kal's face softens a little. After a moment, he gets back up and grants Paul a quick smile. He looks around the camp, his eyes settling on the tent in Paul' back.

"So, there's only this one tent, huh ?" Kal notes, smirking. "Must be cozy."

Paul holds back a laugh, and gets up, imitating his friend. "It's more cold than anything." Paul says truthfully, decided to ignore the innuendo, which seems to amuse Kal even more.

"Right." He only answers, still smirking.

Kal stays for a little while after that, sharing breakfast with Paul. They both eat sandwiches Kal had brought with him. Paul appreciates that he had brought three of them, not leaving Daryl out.

"I should head back. What do we do about Daryl ?" Kal asks, glancing nervously in the tent's direction, the older man's sandwich in his hand. "You think I should tie him up my horse to make sure he comes home with me ?" He jokes.

Paul forces a polite smile, the image of Daryl's unconscious body tied to one of a horse the day the Whisperers kidnapped them still makes him uneasy whenever he thinks about it.

They both walk towards the tent, but only Paul enters it. The first thing he notices is the stench that fills the small place. They both need a bath as soon as possible. Then, he constates in horror that Daryl has gone.

How, when, where ?

Paul searches everywhere for something that may indicates Daryl's whereabouts. The bag is still there, and it still contains everything Paul had put in it. He gets out of the tent, trying not to give in to panic. Kal is staring at him.

"He's not here." Paul manages to say.

Kal peeks inside the tent quickly. "We would have seen him get out ! It's crazy."

Kal shakes his head in disbelief. Paul had taken his time washing the sweat and dirt off his hands and face, maybe Daryl had gone at this moment. Paul gives in to panic and starts calling out for Daryl, yelling his name until his throat hurts. Kal joins in, and both start searching the area.

Jesus leaves the tent, his foot brushing Daryl's in the process, waking him. Daryl's mouth is dry and it stinks so much in the tent he decides to imitates Jesus and gets out of there. Before that, he drinks from one of the bottle in the bag, put it back in and leaves. Outisde, he spots Jesus near the river. He watches his back for a couple of seconds more and proceeds to go hunting. He knows Jesus brought food, but Daryl needs to get his mind off things and hunting helps him do that. He grabs his crossbow and walks away, careful not to touch the walker's traps Jesus had set up the day before.

He wanders in the silent woods for twenty minutes under the burning heat of the sun. In that part of the wood, the trees are lesser in numbers and don't shield from the sun as well as in Daryl's camp spot. He listens hard, his mind completely focus on the noises he hears the nature make.

After a while, he yawns, tired despite having slept for a good portion of the night. He stops walking and breathes deeply, trying to stay concentrate on the hunting.

He had closed his eyes while he did it, and when he opens them again his heart skips a beat. Dog is here, barking at something Daryl can't see. He gets closer, until he can face whatever is upsetting Dog but he sees nothing. He looks down at his little companion, worried.

"What is it, buddy ? What do you see ?"

Dog keeps barking madly, his complains so loud it makes Daryl's head hurts. The pain is so strong it makes him fall onto his knees, hurting the most sensible one badly. Soon, he can't take it anymore and fears his brain is going to explode.

"Please, stop." He pleads Dog, causing the animal to bark even louder and at his face.

Daryl falls flat on his stomach, threatening to lose consciousness, the pain becoming more and more insufferable. It is so intense he can't even move, or hold back the tears in his eyes, and begins to sob uncontrollably. He doesn't understand what's happening or why his dog is doing this to him. He's his friend, he loves that dog and did everything he could to save him.

"You didn't." Rick's voice says over Dog's loud barking, like an echo in Daryl's head.

"You watched me die, and then you ran away". The voice says, making Daryl sobs even harder, making his whole body shake violently.

"I searched all this goddamn woods to try and find your body, asshole !" Daryl yells, furious and devastated to hear Rick but not being able to see him.

"I searched everywhere for you ! You left me ! You left your family ! You left two kids behind, you son of a bitch !"

Daryl grows so angry it gives him the strenght he needs to get on his knees again. He winces at the pain of the one he had hurt when he fell. Dog is looking at him silently. He looks just like the day Daryl found him, smaller, dirtier and wary. Daryl wipes the tears off his face, calming down a little after a moment. His breathing comes back to normal and his head hurts less. He looks again at where Dog was standing and the animal has gone.

_He was never there. What the hell are you doing ?_

The moment he becomes aware he is dreaming is when he wakes up. First, he sees Jesus' face above him, holding his head in his hands, eyes wide.

Then, he sees Kal next to him, Daryl's crossbow on his shoulders, looking pretty worried himself. Both sigh in relief when Daryl mumbles that he is fine.

He shies away from Jesus' touch, trying not to do it too abruptly and failing, embarrassment taking the best of him in this moment.

"What happened ?" Daryl asks, to Kal and Jesus' surprise. They had probably imagined Daryl would be the one doing the explaining.

"That's what we were going to ask you." Kal says, confirming Daryl's supposition. Jesus is looking at him intently which doesn't help Daryl's heartbeats slow down.

"Why did you leave without telling me ?" He wants to know.

Daryl can't even remember how he got here and so says nothing and sighs.

"You hit your nose when you fell. It's starting to bleed again." Jesus observes.

Kal and him help him stand up and take him back to the camp, making him feel powerless and he hates it.

Paul and Kal had spent at least thirty minutes to look for Daryl. Watching him taking another bite of the awful rice cakes Paul had cooked, Daryl seems to be doing pretty well now after the blood had been wiped away from his face, again. These repetitive sleepwalking episodes are becoming a real problem and are starting to worry Paul, no matter what Siddiq had told Daryl.

They're alone in the tent, Kal helping his horse drink from a sort of bowl that Paul guesses is Dog's before heading back. Paul knows he'll have to get going soon, and that he needs to convince Daryl to have Siddiq examine him. He doesn't know how to bring up the subject without breaking the peace that has slowly made its way back when they found themselves in their own little bubble once again.

"You made those ?" Daryl asks, swallowing his last mouthful. "They're good." He tells Paul before he can answer the question.

Paul is taken aback by the compliment, and thinks Daryl might be lying but appreciates it all the same.

"Not as good as Carol's cookies." He thinks out loud despite himself, reflecting on the day he had had the chance to taste one, years ago. Daryl snorts at the improbable comparison, and studies Paul's face for a couple of seconds before looking away quickly.

Paul sighs at what he's about to say to Daryl, which makes the other man look in his direction again, a look of confusion on his face.

"I was thinking about checking in on our new friends." He tries to say in a light enough tone. Daryl only nods, and Paul understands he hasn't picked up on the "I" at the beginning of the sentence.

"You know, Dog is better." He informs Daryl, who can't hide his eagerness to know more. "He finally woke up last night."

Daryl nods. He isn't the type to jump into the air upon hearing good news, but Paul can see this is genuinely making him happy.

"I thought you might want to go and visit him while I watch over the Whisperers." Paul tries, hoping not to sound too nervous. Daryl is staring at him with a blank expression.

"Kal is going soon." He goes on, getting up. "I'll stay at the camp for a couple days more and then, I'll honour the promise I made Tim and the others and take them to a safer place to stay."

Daryl watches as Kal and Jesus say their goodbyes. Kal hugs Jesus fiercely, and makes a comment about how he needed to do something for his hair because it was really terrible, which makes Jesus laugh. He playfully punches Kal's arm. His smile slowly fades when he glances at Daryl. Daryl wants to see Dog again, more than Jesus thinks, but when this mission is over, Daryl will have to go to Alexandria with Siddiq, as he said he would, and he doesn't know for how long. It might be the last time they spend time together in a long while. But he says none of this to Paul, having a hard time admitting this to himself in the first place.

"I should really go." Kal finally says. Then, addressing Daryl he asks : "Are you coming ? Did you and Jesus sorted it out ?"

Apparently, _they_ did talk about it while Daryl wasn't around.

"Thank Siddiq for me. And tell him I'll be back in three days." He tells Kal in an enough neutral voice that hides his dislike for the man pretty well.

Kal looks at Jesus for help, but Jesus is looking at Daryl. Oddly enough, he doesn't seem to hate the idea of Daryl staying. But he does look worried. Daryl supposes it is because of the incident that happened earlier.

"Alright. I'm... gonna go, then." Kal pats Jesus on the shoulder, making him look away from Daryl. Jesus smiles at him and watches as he mounts his horse and leaves.

Paul's relief to be alone with Daryl again is showing, he knows, even though he would have liked better if Daryl was in Siddiq's medical care. He'll have to look after him closely now, as well as Tim and his group.

Paul retrieves the bag full of clothes and provisions for the Whisperers and find it soaking wet. He had completely forgotten about it during the storm. Thankfully, the food is mostly in cans. Only the clothes have suffered. He proceeds to take them out and let them dry in the sun when Daryl goes back inside the tent. He's out again in no time, their own provisions bag on his shoulder, ready to go.

Once Paul is done with the clothes, he puts the bag inside the tent and approaches Daryl, handing him his crossbow. When he makes to grab it, Paul holds it a little longer in the hope that Daryl's fingers might brush his own, but they don't, and he feels ridiculous. Being so close to the other man, Paul notices Daryl's smells are earthy and strong and he finds that he quite like that. They're both sweating, though, and decide to leave their coats behind, revealing both of their less pleasing corporal odors.

Paul verifies his gun is good to use and nods to Daryl, giving him the signal he's ready to go, too.

Daryl notes Jesus is watching Tim more than does the others. He wonders what he thinks of him now that the kid has shown his true colours. Daryl finds himself watching Tim, too. The Whisperers had taken the decision to have graves for those who had lost their lives during the fight and some others who had died before Daryl and Jesus met the boy judging by the number of wooded crosses accross the clearing, making it look like a true cimetery.

Tim is sitting in front of one now. Neither Jesus or Daryl can see the name that has been engraved on it. Daryl can count five letters when looking very hard, but he can't make out the letters.

"I wonder where's the old man..." Jesus asks himself out loud. Daryl supposes he means the man whose Tim's parents had stopped from taking the faces of their dead friends the previous day. Daryl watches around the camp and starts counting them all.

"Ain't just the old guy. There's two others missing."

Daryl sees Jesus' brow furrows as if he was in deep thought.

"Let's not come to conclusions too quickly." He says after a moment. "They may be hunting somewhere in the woods.

\- Look." Daryl points someone joining the others that wasn't previously there. It's a man. Both men watch him as he's putting up his zip trousers back in place.

Daryl and Paul exchange a look.

"Maybe he went for a piss." Jesus proposes, not really convinced himself.

They wait for the others to come out. The old man and a another one. Both are chatting as if nothing serious had happened. Jesus lets out a relieved and heavy sigh.

The sun is burning Daryl's shoulders. They've been here for hours and he can see it's wearing Jesus down as much as him. He extends his hand to get to their bag and takes out two water bottles and protein bars. They have their meal right there, sitting in the mud and while bored out of their minds.

Jesus' eyes are still on the grave Tim was meditating on earlier.

"I think that one is Lydia's." He tells Daryl, and he seems sad while he says this.

At the end of the day, they decide it safe to head back to the camp. Paul glances one last time at what he suspects is Lydia's grave. When he thinks of the horrors some of these people have done, he feels remorse in wanting to help them. How many Lydias had died since all this started ? Will they ever be other victims ? Maybe the three men they had sent away were not the only bad people in the group. Paul would never forgive himself if he had allowed something similar to what had happened to Lydia happen again. And despite his lies, Paul can't help but wanting Tim to be safe, and maybe even happy, one day.

It's in a strange mood that Paul and Daryl come back to the camp. The sun has set, but the air is still much too heavy for Paul's taste. When Paul's hand make contact with the cold river water, he thinks of having a bath in there for the second time today.

"Have you ever been in there ?" He asks Daryl. "Is it safe ?"

Daryl shrugs while making sure the traps around the camp are still holding. "You won't find fish here. I go to the other side of the river for that, there's still some there. Sometimes, there're walkers, too, though."

When Daryl turns to look at Paul, he's already got rid of his shoes, socks and his two shirts and sweater. Daryl's shocked face amuses Paul.

"I don't like fish." He says with a smirk. "But my friends used to say I swam just like one.

\- What the hell you're doing ?

\- What the hell you think I'm doing ?" Paul retorts playfully while taking off his trousers, though a bit taken aback by Daryl's tone.

It's clear that Daryl doesn't really know what to do with himself, which still amuses Paul but also confuses him a little. It's just going to be a quick wash, after all. Why does he act so weird about it ?

He throws his trousers on top of his other clothes and carefully gets closer to the river while Daryl stays back and watches. The noises he makes when he puts one foot into the cold water disturb Daryl. Jesus is enjoying the feeling so much he hastily puts his whole body into the river. He washes his long, now very messy hair and beard with much care, and Daryl finds it weirdly distracting. He tries to focus on the traps, and when he can't, he decides to try and find dry woods to start a fire. It's going to be dark soon, and colder, and the fool over there will need to dry quickly if he doesn't want to be sick tomorrow.

But he's done with the fire fairly quickly, and the images of Jesus' bare chest soon come and haunt his mind.

When he starts feeling a bit too uncomfortably tight in his jeans, Daryl decides to do what he always does in this situation, which is to do some boxing. Daryl's always liked boxing. When he was fourteen or fifteen, Daryl had saved enough money from odd jobs, that he did instead of going to shcool, to take some classes with a professional. His teacher, a girl of twenty-five, had once said Daryl was the best of the class, which was something that was never said of Daryl, ever.

He had not often been in urgent need of boxing, at least not for a while, and he finds nothing to hit on except the trees, which could potentially break his fingers. He glances at the river, very quickly, and manages to get glimpse of Jesus on his back, his head slightly turned towards him. Daryl looks a second time to be sure, and sees Jesus straightening up while staring at him.

Daryl is looking at him and Paul doesn't know how to interpret that. Usually, Daryl is pretty easy to read. He's not so much of a talker, and would often make himself understood without the need for words. That's one of the many things Paul likes about him. He doesn't need to say much to communicate with the people he is close to. So Paul takes pride in unscrambling Daryl's behaviour when others could not, it makes him feel special.

In this moment, though, it is different. He's under the impression Daryl is tempted to join him in the water, but then thinks it's probably just dumb wishful thinking.

Daryl is about to walk away. If chance there is, Paul is not one to let it pass. He gets out of the water, slightly shivering when the air touches his skin, and the noise grabs Daryl's attention. He tries to smile innocently while he observes Daryl's reaction to him getting closer with nothing on but his underwear. He catches Daryl's expression changing slightly, subtly, so subtly he wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't paid this much attention.

"It feels really good." Paul sighs, trying to be as natural as possible. "The heat was killing me."

Daryl stares in silence for a few seconds, then he points to the fire. "Sit by it until you're dry. We can't afford you to get a cold.

\- Why don't you come with me instead ?" Paul ventures.

Daryl bites his lip while looking down at the river behind Paul, before his eyes settle on Paul again. "Come on." Paul insists, taking Daryl by the arm, careful not to do it too suddenly and startle Daryl like he had done in the tent the previous day, when he tried to wipe off the blood on his face. When Daryl doesn't oppose to it or get away from Paul, Paul assumes it safe to slowly take Daryl to the river bank. Paul has never seen Daryl so embarrassed in all the years he's known him. He doesn't want to force him to do something he would not be comfortable with, though, and so doesn't push. He goes back in the water, and hopes Daryl will join in.

Jesus swims to the middle of the river, where Daryl knows he can't possibly reach the bottom with his feet. Daryl has been completely unable to resist the younger man and is now finding himself standing by the river like an idiot. It's getting pretty dark, and from where he is he can't see Jesus' face clearly. He looks around the camp, contemplating the fact that they are all alone here. He proceeds to take off his shoes and socks first, and sits by the water while letting his feet dangle in it. After swimming and enjoying himself for a little while, Jesus comes and sit with him.

Daryl's eyes are fixed on his feet. Jesus sighs contently next to him, his bare shoulder brushing against Daryl's sleeve. Up close, he can see the gun wound Jesus had on his right arm. Jesus catches him staring at it.

"It barely even hurts now." He tells him. "I like to think he did it on purpose. Tim." He sighs. "I fucked up big time, didn't I ?"

Daryl then notices the change in Jesus' face. Behind the smile and easy going nature, this whole thing with Tim really affected him. Daryl only realises how much just now. He looks down at his feet again.

"Nah." Daryl assures him. "You did the right thing." When he looks up again, Jesus is smiling at him.

"It means a lot coming from you." He says, which makes Daryl snort.

"Why ?

\- Your opinion matters to me."

Daryl is touched by Jesus' words but doesn't really know what to say to that. He wishes it was easier for him to express himself. They stay in a comfortable silence for some time, until the only source of light comes from the fire. In the dark, Daryl feels comfortable enough to look up again and meet Jesus' eyes. His eyes are so bright he can still see the blue in them. He looks down at his hand, so close to his own, and soon both of them are looking at them. Daryl's heart beats so hard in his chest he fears Jesus can hear it.

"I was wondering," Jesus begins, "if you ever consider moving back to Alexandria, sometimes. I mean, when you leave this place, where will you go ?"

Daryl never thought about leaving this place one day. He thinks of it as home now, and can't imagine moving to Alexandria with Negan living there. In a way, he feels like he has nowhere else to go but here. Looking at Jesus now, he wonders how he would feel if Daryl told him he'd very much like to live at the Hilltop. Jesus would welcome him with open arms, and so would Tara. They are his friends, he knows he can count on them. But he has no idea how Jesus would _feel_ about it. Daryl, having no concrete answer to give the other man, only shrugs before simply adding : "I don't know."

"How about moving to the Hilltop ?" Jesus asks him, looking down at his hands, as if embarrassed. "My trailer's big enough for two people, so you wouldn't have to stay in the "Big House"." he says, smirking.

When he sees Daryl's surprised expression he explains Aaron had told him that was how both men liked to call Barrington House.

Daryl tries to picture what his life would be like sharing his trailer with him, but then realises it would probably resemble all the moments they had shared in this camp. Daryl smiles, and nods, letting the other man know he'll seriously consider the offer. They both stare into each other's eyes before Jesus breaks eye contact and returns in the water. "Come on. Join me. I'm not leaving you any choice now. We have to celebrate this.

\- That's the way you celebrate things ? Plunging into cold water in the middle of the night ?"

Jesus laughs and throws some water at him. " _That's_ how I celebrate. Come on !" He swims farther from the bank, and when Daryl loses sight of him in the dark, he hastens to takes off his shirt and jeans and decides to joins in, trying hard not too think too much for once. He rapidly catches up with Jesus, he's always been a very good swimmer. Not wanting this moment to be too awkward by just standing still in the water, Daryl takes the decision to clean his hair and face.

He completely immerses himself into the river, and feels the dirt and sweat being wiped off his face, the muscles in his sore legs relax and allows his mind to just wander for a little while. After a moment, he feels Jesus' hands on his face, trying to move him back up. He lets the other man brings him up to the surface.

Paul's face is so close to Daryl's that their noses almost touch. He's never wanted to kiss another man as much as he wants to kiss Daryl in this moment. To break the tension, Paul sprays some water to Daryl's face again, which manages to bring a small smile on Daryl's so serious face. In the dark, it's hard to see clearly but Paul can see the other man's deep blue eyes shining in the moonlight, the water having brought his hair to the back, allowing Paul to study his face better than he ever did. The little wrinkles around his eyes, his cheekbones, his nose, his thin lips, Paul can see everything.

He thinks Daryl is the most beautiful man he's ever met.

The way Daryl is looking at him right now causes him to take a trembling breath that he sees Daryl catch up on.

"You're cold ?" He asks Paul.

"No." Paul answers softly.

"I'm glad you're here, Paul." Daryl says hesitantly after a moment.

Hearing his name in Daryl's mouth surprises him, but the words he had told him is what touches Paul more than words could say. So instead, he takes Daryl's hands in his. Their fingers naturally intertwine and Paul can feel his heart beating harder than ever in his chest, threatening to explode with excitation. Encouraged by this positive reaction from Daryl, Paul dares to gets even closer to him, carefully at first. When Daryl doesn't move away from him, or push him away, he brings Daryl under water with him, and closes the space between their lips, trying to tell everything he feels about him with this kiss. When Daryl reciprocates, Paul is feeling all of Daryl's affection for him.

_Get used to be on your own. Nobody trusts someone that his own parents abandoned._

But Daryl does, and he wants to be with him. Paul has finally found the right person for him and has never been happier to be wrong in all his life.


End file.
